Kiseki World Online
by GPS-OrangeWorld
Summary: VR!AU. At the suggestion of a friend, college student Kuroko Tetsuya starts playing a popular, new VRMMO RPG, Kiseki World Online. Akashi Seijuurou, the young heir to the coveted throne of the system's sole creator, Akashi Industries, endeavors to build the game's most powerful and influential guild. Nice!GoM-centric. Light KiKuro, MidoTaka, AoKaga, MuraHimu, AkaFuri, and more.
1. Chapter 0: Dive Into the Virtual World

Hello~ I'm new to writing fanfiction but I'll do my best~ To say the truth though, I'm not that good at writing so I apologize if it sucks .

Full Summary edited here:

At the suggestion of a friend, zero-presence, 20-year-old college student Kuroko Tetsuya starts playing a popular, new VRMMO RPG**–**_Kiseki World Online_. Meanwhile, Akashi Seijuurou–the heir to one of the most influential companies in the world, Akashi Industries–aims to build the most powerful guild in the game for his own reasons.

Along the way, Kuroko not only meets colorful new friends, allies, and rivals, but also comes to terms with his ever-prevalent invisibility.

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi~

* * *

Chapter Zero: Dive Into the Virtual World

* * *

Exactly three weeks ago, the world-renowned Akashi Industries released its newest and highly-anticipated VRMMO, _Kiseki World Online._

Though it's a bit difficult to tell by the title, it was announced as a fantasy type RPG game, complete with monsters and magic and the like. The game was a hit**–**though nothing less was expected from the leading company in videogame programming for the last twelve years. It had seemed like after their last great VR game, _Teiko Revolution Online_, nothing else could match up. Within the first week, however, _KWO _had already topped the game charts all around the globe. Servers currently ran in eleven different countries; In Japan alone, about five-million people were in play daily.

After the past few weeks, it had finally gotten considerably easier for less-active gamers to get their hands on a copy of the famed game.

Which is exactly what a certain blue-haired man did.

Kuroko Tetsuya**–**age twenty, status: college student**–**had managed to get a set at an extremely discounted price from a person who disliked the game's "realism". Apparently, the pain levels were set to about twenty percent of what a person might feel in real life (though only for external wounds).

There were actually many complaints about it, along with a few other things, though most didn't go as far as this player did because every other aspect of the game was absolute perfection.

One common objection against _Kiseki World's_ system was that it disallowed a person to drastically change their appearance. Another was that for each console, only one character could be made unless all previous data was erased or imported into another.

There was also the fact that the game based a person's beginner stats off their real-life physicality; to play the game, one had to spend an hour or two at one of Akashi Industries' game registration buildings and go through a series of tests and scans. It was a rather painstaking process, but most found it worth it after finding themselves surrounded by the game's vivid imagery.

Kuroko himself had registered about an hour ago, and after returning home to his shared apartment, he was ready to try playing the now-distinguished game.

His pale hands reached for the VR helmet and placed it on, then he shifted into a comfortable position lying down. According to the manual for using the equipment set, the helmet would do a facial recognition scan, and from there he'd have to say a certain phrase to link his conscience into the game's reality. After a few seconds, the scan notified its completion via a robotic voice saying, "Valid Identification. Kuroko Tetsuya ID: 9650 1511 1437".

Feeling just slightly embarrassed (Though it didn't show on his face), the blue-haired man cleared his throat and said in his monotonous tone:

"_Dive into the virtual world_".

Little-by-little, the small apartment's room disappeared and was replaced with a blinding white. A small message in front of Kuroko read "Initiating_", _followed by an ever-changing percentage.

Five percent. Ten percent. Twenty. Fifty. Ninety.

Seconds later, it reached one-hundred with an affirmative beep.

It had connected.

* * *

VRMMO - Virtual Reality Mass Multi-player Online

RPG- Role Playing Game

This chapter is actually more of an introduction or prologue. I was wondering how many people who be interested in something like this.

I'm not used to typing on a computer when I write, so I'm sorry about the formatting.


	2. Chapter 1: Create & Game Play

Chapter 1: Create & Game Play

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. It belongs to a very cool dude in Japan.

* * *

Kuroko's ocean blue orbs swept across the plain white room. In the middle of the space in front of him, a system message appeared.

_"Welcome to Kiseki World Online. As this is your first time in this game, an NPC will be provided to assist in the creation of your character. We hope you enjoy your time in this game"._

True to its word, the message dispersed into pixels and was replaced by a smiling NPC girl. She spoke in an almost human-like tone, though one could hear faint traces of it being synthesized.

"_Please select your character type"._

Three images of the blue-haired man, all just slightly different from each other, appeared in front of him.

"_Each race has different attributes and your choice will affect your character later in the game. You cannot change your race after choosing it. Among these three basic choices are several sub-groups for each category. I'd suggest imagining what type of class you will choose in the future as it may clash with your choice here."_

The three main choices were labeled as "Human", "Elf", and lastly, "Beast". While the Human form was an exact replica of Kuroko, the other two choices were very much similar as well**–**save for a few obvious differences.

**.**

_Humans: This race's stats are the most well-balanced among the three, though its magic capabilities tend to be slightly lower than the others. Human type players tend to be compatible with Fighter, Rogue, and Hunter classes._

_Elves: The Elf race is the most dexterous and has the highest magic capability of the three, though they lack in strength. Elven-type players tend to be compatible with Mage and Hunter classes._

_Beast: This race is the strongest among the three. Along with their strength, they also tend to be quite fast. Beast types seem to lack strong magic capability, but tend to be compatible with Fighter and Rogue classes._

**.**

Kuroko opened his status window. Among the four stat categories, his magic capability was far higher than the rest, and far better than most beginner players according to the ever-smiling NPC.

_Probably the system's way of making up for my lack of physicality._

It was fine for Kuroko though; he was more interested in a supporting class rather than a front-line combatant. With that in mind, he reached towards the "Elf" him. When he touched it, the other two races disappeared; Two other types of Elves took their place.

One of them was labeled as a "Dark" Elf. A grayish-brown skinned version of Kuroko with darker-shaded hair. The other was a "Light" Elf. This one was just slightly paler than him (Though he was already extremely pale to begin with), and had hair a shade or two fairer than his.

According to their descriptions, although Elves had high magic capability, the Dark Elves possessed higher relative strength and dexterity, but less of the other two categories. The Light Elves were the exact opposite.

The bluenette decided since it was already strong, he might as well go for more magic capability, and so he neglected the Dark and Normal Elves in favor of the palest one. With a flash of white, the image moved towards him and the two figures merged.

A mirror appeared in his midst.

Kuroko now donned traditional beginner gear: plain tan and brown garb. Being an Elf, he also had the stereotypical elongated and pointed ears, and because he was so pale in every aspect, he had an almost ethereal look.

_"You will no longer be able to change your race", _the NPC chirped, repeating what she'd said earlier. Kuroko looked back to the mirror, and his observant eyes noticed that, besides the ears, something else seemed slightly different.

"… How tall am I?"

"_Approximately 168 cm* tall",_ the NPC informed_._

"…"

If it were anyone else, they'd have probably sighed in indignation if they felt what the blue-haired man was. He had always been a bit particularly sensitive about his height, yet the system made him shorter than he already was. Because he was Kuroko though, his face remained passive and stoic. A person with keen eyes, however, might have noticed just the slightest twitch in his blank expression.

The NPC proceeded to explain the basic game commands, such as opening windows or equipping an item. Next came an explanation on classes, stat points, and skill points. The blue-haired man, or "Elf" I should say, tried to digest as much of the information as he could. Although this was only a guide for beginners, the game was so complex that it took around the next twenty minutes to completely explain the simplest of gameplay rules and how-to. With one final sentence explaining guilds, the NPC returned to a cloud of pixels and data.

**.**

_"Would you like to begin game play?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

**.  
**

**"_Yes_"*  
**_  
"No"_

**.**

Again, the room around him dissolved and was replaced by an entirely new setting.

The Beginner Island Town was like something you'd see in a medieval rural area. Other beginner players were scattered around the town, wandering and weaving through the primal-looking stone buildings and run-down cottages.

As Kuroko was given only beginner equipment, some potions, and a small amount of ladomi (the game's currency), he walked towards the training area to test out what fighting was like.

Even though the bluenette wanted to become a class that involved magic, all beginners had to start by using a short wooden sword to kill monsters. "_Equip {Beginner's Sword}"_, was said, and with a gripping gesture, the weapon materialized in his hand.

Kuroko followed some other players towards one of the many beginner training areas. At the edge of town he went out a random exit.

Stepping out of the Beginner's start point led to several paths into the woods**–**four to be exact. Each had a sign next to it, labeled one through four in order. The Elf walked into the first one as it seemed to be the obvious choice for a starting player.

The path he walked through was littered with signs reading "Beware!" and "Turn back!" and other simple warnings like that. He didn't, of course; Instead, he found the opening of the forest which led to a wide, open field full of lush vegetation.

Almost blending into the grass, small, basketball-sized globs of some kind of gelatinous material hopped all around in the field in front of him.

_Ah, this must be what they call "Slimes"._

Kuroko walked to one of the hopping little globs and swung his sword at it, grazing it and causing a small amount of its jelly-like form to fly off; its HP had lowered by about half as well. Following his previous thought, a small window next to the creature labeled it as a _"Slime Monster"._

The creature jumped up and proceeded to attack him. It didn't hurt much at all, but Kuroko still lost two of his thirty HP. The gloop-ball charged at him again, but this time, the Elf side-stepped and brought his sword down straight through the creature. The split sides then exploded into a mass of pixels.

_That was easy._

_{+5 Experience}_  
_{Obtained: Slime Gel, 6 ladomi}*_  
_{slime monster archived}*_

The notices appeared at the blue eyed man's side. He made a sweeping motion with his hand and moved it to his front. The Elf vaguely remembered something about an archive for the game's creatures. Something along the lines of "If you kill a monster a certain amount of times or are lucky, all its information will appear in a catalogue of monsters".

_{+5 Experience}  
{Obtained: Slime Gel, six ladomi}*_  
**_{Slime Monster archived}*  
_**_  
_  
A floating book appeared in front of the bluenette. In each page was a multitude of empty squares, except for one which held a picture of a slime. He clicked on it and watched its information appear.

_Species: Slime Monster  
Level: 1_  
_Hit Points: 10  
Common Attack(s): Head-butt  
Common Item(s): Slime Gel  
Experience: 5  
Status: Passive Aggro_

_Description: Slimes are the weakest creature in the game. Their weakest point is their entire body. To critical hit a slime, cut it in half._

Kuroko closed the window and began to mercilessly murder slimes.

* * *

After a short session of monster grinding, the Elf decided the process had become rather slow and tedious.

By now, he had become level four and wanted to try fighting something more challenging since the Slimes would always die in one hit; he didn't even have to try anymore. The bluenette walked back to the forked road and past the second path into the third. After some more leisure walking, the man came across another Slime-filled clearing similar the first. Instead of green _Slimes_ from before though, the monsters here were a dark orange; like traffic cones except somewhat transparent.

Kuroko approached the nearest one and slashed at it. Instead of slicing straight through though, the sword got stuck about three-fourths of the way through. The slime growled…_growled?..._the monster dissected itself from the shabby sword and turned around. At this time, the Elf noted it had a face. He literally just thought, "_It has a face". _In the few seconds he spent studying it, the slime molded its almost-split body together.

And pounced.

Instead of just lunging at or tackling Kuroko, it _bit_ him. The creature's canines sank in around his arm, drawing a bit of virtual blood as it did. The bite didn't hurt as much as the Elf had thought it would (it's teeth were actually quite sharp), but the damage was much greater than the first slime monster's. Kuroko could tell, especially since his defense had gotten higher along with his levels.

The _Slime_ detached itself and landed on the ground, ready to strike again. This type of _Slime_ was visibly faster and quite apparently denser than the first, making it a tougher opponent. Nothing the Elf couldn't handle though.

Kuroko evaded its next attack, and this time putting more power into his swing, he cut the monster again. The sword, this time, permeated through the slime's jelly-like body. The two cut sides dissolved into the all-too familiar scene of scattered data once again.

_{+15 Experience}  
{Obtained: Orange Slime Gel, 22 ladomi}*  
{Orange Slime Monster Archived}*_

_{Kuroko has leveled up!: Level 5}_

The Elf spent the rest of his training time here as he felt going to the next area wouldn't make too much of a difference.

About a half hour later, he reached level 10 and promptly returned to town, then he went to square in the middle. "_I should probably check the time", _he thought, as he made a circular motion with his hands. The time appeared in front of him. _21:38. _As of the current moment, he'd spent about two hours in game-play.

Although the time wasn't late for most people, the blue-eyed man had a college class in the early morning, and rather liked to be well rested.

Before he had started playing, Kuroko had read that while in game, the VR gear would induce a state of hibernation on the body. The mind, however, would be rather fatigued due to mental strain unless the person got at least two or three hours of sleep.

Kuroko decided that he would put off choosing his in-game class for the next day. His hands moved, opening up the system operations window and clicking the "log out" button.

**.**

_"Are you sure you would like to quit game play?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

**.**

**"_Yes_"*  
**_  
"No"_

**.  
**

And the world once again faded to white.

* * *

NPC - Non-player character. These are usually AI (Artificial intelligence) kind of things and assist in game play.

168 cm is Kuroko's height in the actual KnB series. It's about 5'5 or 5'6. I figured he'd have grown a bit since he's older in this story.

HP - Hit Points/Health Points

Passive Aggro - Passive Aggro monsters that don't attack you unless you attack them

Grinding - Killing the same monster over and over, usually for leveling purposes.

21:38 is 9:38 P.M.

Authors note: I put in the genres that this would be romance, but I am actually still debating on whether or not I should keep this a Gen-fic because I've never written anything romancy before. If enough people in the future want it, I'd be glad to try though. Just a warning though, all my favorite pairings are slash. If the time arises, I'll put a warning in the summary. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 2: Class & Weapon

Hello dear readers. Welcome to another chapter of KWO.

Author here is very grateful for the reviews and support. You all seriously make me very happy.

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me~

* * *

Chapter 2: Class & Weapon

* * *

Sky-colored eyelashes fluttered open, revealing the sapphire-hued eyes lying dormant underneath. For a few moments, Kuroko stared up at the ceiling, but he tired of it quickly and sat up, removing the head-gear in the process.

This was the man's first time playing a VR game. He had never been the type to play things like these in the past, but this year he'd kept hearing of the game from one of his few close friends**–**very much insistently. Since the game had come out, he couldn't start a conversation (though Kuroko's conversations usually consisted more of the other party talking and his giving affirmative nods and throat noises) without hearing something about _Kiseki World's_ amazing variety or class system or graphics.

To say the least, actually playing the game was rather addicting.

Though he was only killing Slimes, it had felt good to experience running like that**–**feeling light as air as he hacked jelly to pieces.

The bluenette walked into the apartment's kitchen as he hadn't eaten since that afternoon.

Sitting at the four-sided kitchen table was one of his two flatmates, the very one who had introduced him to the famed game in fact. He seemed to be too immersed in lazily eating curry from the day prior to notice Kuroko's arrival.

As of now, the other man still hadn't noticed him walking towards him. Not even when he was right next to him, which honestly put Kuroko's mind in a slight state of worry.

You see, ever since he was younger, Kuroko had always had a lack of presence. He also had grown up rather reserved, which only served to amplify his "invisibility". Even when right in front of someone**–**in their immediate field of vision**–**they wouldn't know he was there until they walked right into him. Actually, sometimes they wouldn't know he was there even _after_ they ran into him.

One of the main reasons the bluenette had become friends with the dark haired man at the table was because the latter had an unusually attentive eye for detail, as well as an extremely chummy, out-going personality.

Who is this man?

To most, he is known as Takao Kazunari.

This unlikely pair of friends had met one day in March, during their college entrance exams. Takao had pulled Kuroko out of the way of being trampled by the college sumo team, which, by the way, was strangely popular at the time. The shorter of the two had actually been about to step back out of harm's way as he had grown accustomed to this kind of event, but the other had grabbed and jerked his arm back until he was safely out of the overweight team's destructive path.

The blue-haired man had been more than surprised that the other had noticed him. In the past few years of his life, only a handful of people could; namely his parents and other close family members. When I say a handful, I mean he could literally count them on the fingers of one hand. It had been better when he was a child; he had talked a lot more back then and the scarcity of his presence hadn't yet been full-blown.

Ever since that first meeting, whenever Takao would spot him, the dark haired male would say a cheerful greeting to Kuroko. He would repeat one back to him (albeit not so cheerfully).

Somehow, throughout the course of their first year of college (after they had both passed the entrance exams), the two acquaintances had become very good friends . "BFFs", as Takao had called it, though the other had never figured out what it stood for.

After that first year, the two, along with another friend they'd made while in a shared course of their's, moved into a decently-sized apartment complex a few minutes away from campus. Since then they've been living in cohabitation like this.

"Takao-kun", spoke an impassive voice.

The dark haired man jumped in his seat, letting out an undignified mix of a yell and a squeal: a manly shriek if you will.

"Geez, Tet-chan, don't scare me like that", he said, trying to calm down his rapid heart rate.

Because of his above-average perception skills, he could usually spot the blue haired man before he had a chance to do something like this.

"But you did not notice I have been standing here. You would usually have seen me as soon as I arrived", Kuroko replied blankly, walking to the fridge to heat himself some curry as well.

"Sorry, just preoccupied with thought."

"About what?"

"Umm…work and… stuff?"

The dark-haired man looked to the side and back. He had never been good at lying to good people, and especially not the room's other occupant, who was now staring at him.

Takao could see that Kuroko rarely blinked, and even though they were friends, his unending stare was still unnerving.

The silence went on for about a minute, only being broken by the microwave's resounding "_beep". _The bluenette rose to grab his curry and a spoon before sitting down.

_staaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrreeeeeee_

"…Will you promise me not to judge?"

Not that Kuroko would, but it's just one of those things one says before telling a confession. And so, the blue haired male nodded as he spooned curry and rice into his waiting mouth.

"Umm... do you remember two weeks ago when I told you about that in-game tournament?", Takao paused for a second."I found someone I like from there. An Archer around the same level as me, though _he _was a lot stronger."

The shorter man took a moment to recall the fact that Takao, his one-and only "BFF", was actually gay_._ Not that he was against it of course. He didn't discriminate, especially because he had never even been in any explicit relationship himself. All genders overlooked him most of the time and he had never really been remotely interested in any other human being past elementary. He had once contemplated if he was asexual.

Takao continued on while Kuroko drew in his thoughts to listen."I saw him again today, but not in the game**–**it was in real life. I don't think he recognized me though. Anyways, I'm not exactly sure why, but he came into the store I work at and bought just a stuffed frog. I got his real name when he took out his wallet though."

The dark haired man averted his eyes and slightly shrugged his shoulders, as if trying to convince himself that the next thing he said was an every-day activity for the majority of the populace of India. "…And I'm kind of stalking him right now."

If possible, Kuroko's stare was blanker than usual.

"Don't look at me like that, Tet-chan. It just sort of happened, okay?"

"Tet-chan" finished his curry. "I am actually happy for you, Takao-kun, though I am confused as to what prompted this."

Takao let out another sigh. "I'm not sure either. He seems really kind and cool and really hot and just something about him draws me to him". The man's silvery-blue eyes had a dreamy look to them as he thought back to that afternoon.

For the next few moments, the two let in a comfortable silence.

Soon after though, the black haired man jumped from his seat and smiled. "Well, I feel much better after telling someone about it. It feels nice to have someone to confide in", he confessed energetically.

Kuroko felt relieved seeing the other man more like his usual cheerful self. He just wasn't used to Takao doing things like thinking too hard or stressing himself out. In the time he'd known him, the other had always danced and ran through life the best he could; he never really stopped moving forward with anything he did and so never had enough time to worry about anything. The blue haired man would often hear him say a phrase along the lines of: "_Those who enjoy life are winners."  
_  
His lips twitched upwards just the slightest.

The smaller man placed his dishes in the sink and the two bid each other adieu, the taller of the two leaving the room first while Kuroko washed his tableware.

When he was done, he left the room to unlight itself and returned to his room as well, retiring for the night.

* * *

The next day, Kuroko had gone through his usual Tuesday morning routine. He had gotten up early, five o'clock to be exact, to go on a brisk morning jog. When he finished, he returned home, prepared a simple breakfast, and then walked to one of his classes the following hour.

He had returned to his abode around nine and quietly shuffled to his room.

The bluenette placed the helmet on his head, turning it on and waiting as it completed its validation.

When it did, he uttered the phrase; the words that would connect him back to world of virtual reality.

The now-familiar white space appeared, as well as the loading screen. In a matter of seconds, they both dissipated into nothingness; replaced instead by the visual of the Beginner Town.

The man (now-Elf) watched the scene unfold as he as well materialized from the air.

He walked towards the town port, once again letting that weightless feeling sink in.

The blue-haired man paid fare to an NPC and boarded the ship that would bring him to the next island in the game.

_Kiseki World Online's_ world map consisted of many islands of all sizes, separated by wide expanses of ocean. That meant that most traveling had to be done by means of boat. Certainly there were items or skills one could use, but these types of things were unattainable by newbie players like Kuroko.

Speaking of Kuroko, he was sitting dazedly on the ship's deck and watching the virtual waves roll by.

_Takao was right about the amazing graphics._

According to the NPC he had interacted with earlier, this ship ride would take about five minutes. Until then, he and all the other beginner players would be stuck riding the large wooden vessel. There was an option of jumping off, but that was really a stupid thing since high-level monsters lurked in the sea below.

It didn't happen often in his life, but the Elf felt a bit of impatience drawing near. The game had so much to offer. So much that he wanted to try out.

But of course, he just had to wait until the time he could choose his character class.

Now, as I've written before, _KWO_ is an extremely complex and developed game.

As such, the class system is also somewhat confusing.

Though there are only four basic classes in the game, each one tied into a series of arch-types. Some of these arch-types even branched out into further miscellaneous sub-groups. They worked in a way that you could advance in your class every certain set of levels. If one counted all the possible classes together, there were currently about thirty available in Japan with more rumored to being made.

In addition to classes, there was also a factor of something called "Elements". The game had eight main elements that could be mixed and matched to create further specialized elements. Choosing an element to use greatly affects the way a player could fight, for better or worse. Some chose purposely not to use them in lieu of focusing on improving their fighting skills, though they were usually disadvantaged against the ones who possessed them.

Though any number of elements could be utilized by a person, there was also a limit to the amount of skills or spells they could have.

For each level, a person gained a max of four skill slots and five skill points. Each time they chose to specialize in a class arch-type, that number lessened by one each. Unless, of course it was already at one.

The reason people specialized was because the more obscure classes, although not having a greater amount of skills, had more powerful ones. Besides, being specialized also means you're good at that one thing than anyone else; party groups in this game are usually built up like this.

Moving on, each class had a set of weapons they could use (though some were limited to just one.) This also affected how a person could fight. In a broad view, the game had more than a hundred different types of these; of course, many of these were also unique items.

With all these different factors, along with race, there were hundreds of thousands of different combinations that could be made.

Kuroko skimmed over this in his mind as the ship finally docked at the port of this next island. He could see his destination towering over all the other buildings in the vicinity. Its black, stony walls stuck out sorely among the simple white structures and wooden stands surrounding it.

The Elf walked towards the grand castle, a bit awed by its sheer size and majestic appearance. Many other beginners had also started towards the great arrangement, not noticing the blue-haired man even as one of them bumped shoulders with him. His ghost-like presence hadn't left him in the slightest, even in cyberspace. If anything, he thought it had gotten even worse. Sometimes, he felt like even the NPCs took longer to respond to him than all the other players.

The bluenette regained his balance after being pushed to the side and continued forward. In about a minute, he arrived at the castle and made his way into its stone threshold.

He was surprised when all the other players suddenly disappeared.

At this point, the game automatically gave each player a separate reality. Though they existed in the same space, their data couldn't overlap with one another in areas like this. Once they left it however, it'd be the same as it was before entering.

"_It must be one of the game's functions"_, the elf concluded.

And yes, he was right.

He found his way down the castle's main hall, arriving in what seemed to be a ballroom. At the far end of it stood four gallant figures**–**the class change NPCs.

He approached them slowly. When he was a certain distance away, one of the NPCs spoke.

"_Halt! Who goes there? How did you get past the guards!?", _said the one who looked to be a Warrior.

"….."

_**.**_

{_I am here to seek an apprenticeship!__}*_

_{I was merely sent to clean the dancehall}_

_**.**_

_I wonder who makes the dialogue._

**.**

_**{**__**I am here to seek an apprenticeship!**__**}***_

_{I was merely sent to clean the dancehall}_

**.**

_"Ah, you must be the adventurer the king has informed us about. In that case, I'd be happy to instruct you." _The Hunter class NPC smiled at him.

**.**

_"Please select the class you would like to become."_

{_Fighter__}*_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}_

_{Mage}_

_**.**_

_{Fighter}_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}_

_{Mage}_*

**.**

_{Fighter}_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}_

**_{Mage}*_**

**.**

_"Are you sure you would like to become a Mage?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

**.**

**_"__Yes__"*_**

_"No"_

_**.**_

_{Kuroko has become a Mage!}  
{__Kuroko has obtained: Magician's Robe, Magician's hat, Magician's Guidebook__}_

**.**

The blue haired man was about to open his inventory to equip his newly-gained items, but another selection window appeared.

"_Please select the weapon you would like to use"._

**.**

{_Staff__}*_

_{Wand}_

_{Book}_

_{Random}_

**.**

The Elf didn't know much about weapons in this game. What he did know was that he'd probably change his class again after this. He decided not to dwell on it too much as any of the weapons would be compatible, and he'd probably get a new one later on.  
_  
_**.**

_{Staff}_

_{Wand}_

_{Book}_

_{Random}*_

_**.**_

_{Staff}_

_{Wand}_

_{Book}_

**_{Random}*_**

**.**

_{Kuroko has obtained unique item!}_

After hearing those words, the bluenette quickly swiped a finger vertically across the screen; the motion that would open the item inventory. He pressed _equipment_.

There in the third slot, next to the Magician's garb he'd gained, was the weapon he'd just received.

"Equip _{Phantom's Staff of Arcane Shadows}"_

The weapon appeared in his pale, clenched hand.

Kuroko studied it. The item in his hand didn't look as impressive as the name had made it sound.

It was a long wooden staff, about a head taller than its owner. The weapon was a light mahogany in color, and was mostly straight except for at the top which curved left and right before aligning itself once more.

Overall, it didn't leave a very strong impression to the passive-faced man.

Then again, he didn't know how this game worked.

The blue haired man equipped the other equipment given to him and swiped his hand across the screen.

The skill window opened up.

For a beginner Mage, there were few options for spells.

The reason was that Mages, being a Magic-based class , couldn't start getting many of their skills until they chose an element to use.

Kuroko analyzed the skill archive, reading the descriptions of each one. He weighed his choices carefully before choosing his first spells.

_{Kuroko has learned magic ball!}__  
__{Kuroko has learned magic circle!}__  
__{Kuroko has learned heal!}__  
_  
**  
**Now that he had filled up his skill slots, Kuroko set out, mind racing at the prospect of being able to test them out.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Now you readers know one of my OTPs. (Not Takao x Kuroko if you somehow got that out of this)

I have a lot of ideas swimming in my head, but I am so slow at writing.

I'm trying to update about twice a week but it's a bit difficult since this author is still a student. Unless some kind of huge project comes up though, I think I can at least write one of these a week. I'm also trying to write longer chapters, though I am actually _very_ slow.

Anyways, currently I'm deciding which characters to introduce into the story next~

And again, I appreciate constructive criticism.


	4. Chapter 3: Magic & Party

The plot is moving along~ I should probably give a warning now that I plan for this story to be very long. Like, really long.

Anyways, I'm sorry to the people asking about the pairing, but if I tell you now I'm afraid it may spoil some of the plot. Rest assured though, I promise to you now that there will be slash.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot bunnies. Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

* * *

Chapter 3: Magic & Party

* * *

The blue-haired Elf walked toward one of the town's exits, only stopping to buy some items he thought he'd need. He carefully avoided bumping into other players as he read the first passage of the Magician's Guidebook on his way to the outskirts of the town.

_How to attack: Mages attack by concentrating their magic power into one point and letting it burst out. In other words, to attack, simply concentrate on materializing energy and the system will assist you._

_For all spells, you can use the method above or chant incantations. For longer, more high-level spells, however, it is required to speak chants out loud as opposed to instant spells, which only require thought. Breaking incantation makes the spell fail, so if you have weak concentration, it is recommended to use shorter or lower level spells._

Kuroko wondered how the system could be so advanced. When he was a child, this kind of technology had been unheard of.

Until a certain company rose to power, of course.

When the beginner Mage reached the edge of town, he decided to try testing out magic before getting to the monsters in the area.

His first spell seemed the simplest to him after reading its description. If he did it correctly, a ball of "magic energy" would supposedly shoot out of his palm.

Kuroko raised his right hand, opening his fingers towards a tree nearby.

He closed his eyes at first, then thought of a ball of light forming (His imagination wasn't too creative, especially when given the description). His arm began to tingle a bit, then the strange, warm feeling spread to his hand; it was similar to the static feeling of it falling asleep, though it was far more pleasant than that.

His eyes opened towards his hand as he concentrated. Little-by-little, a spherically-shaped mass appeared. It began to look similar to the image Kuroko had in his mind's eye with only the size being different.

By the time he'd finished casting, the orb had become about the size of an orange.

"_How do I release this?", _he wondered.

As soon as he did, the mass shot out, nicking the side of the tree he'd aimed for and leaving a small indent.

It didn't look very powerful, though that might have been because he was just a beginner at this. Surely this kind of thing would take practice and patience, just like everything else int he world.

The bluenette raised his arm to try again.

* * *

It had taken a half hour before Kuroko was somewhat satisfied by the results of his training. By now, could create an energy ball about the size of a grapefruit in a few short seconds. Instead of missing the tree, he could now control the trajectory well enough to hit where he'd aimed in the majority of his efforts. It had gotten stronger too**–**by now he'd created a few deep holes in the tree. Because it was a game though, they grew back quickly as if it hadn't happened at all.

Kuroko checked his _MP_ bar. Even though _Magic Ball_ was a low level spell, the repetition he'd done had caused the blue bar to reach nearly zero. Nothing a few potions couldn't fix, of course, though buying them had gotten considerably more expensive after coming to the second island.

Nevertheless, he started to guzzle some down.

A player had to drink certain types of potions manually, though it was mostly the cheap ones common to any store. Most high-level elixirs were instant and automatic, better for use in the middle of a battle.

The Elf walked further into the forest, pouring the replenishing liquid into his mouth as he went; though one couldn't get full or choke in this world, Kuroko just wasn't used to drinking quickly. The way he'd grown up, chugging was just a rather rude and vulgar action.

In a minute, he reached the end of his path. A vast meadow overflowing with pastel flowers and greenery coupled with clear streams of water opened itself up before him. From what he could see, there were two different types of monsters here.

One of them held semblance to a rabbit, though they were slightly elongated and leaner. Its tail's length was about the same as the average house-cats', and its ears shorter and more rounded than what they seemed they should be.

The other was more like a deer, covered with twisted vines and colorful flowers which seemed to sprout all over its body. The ones lying in the luscious fields almost blended in completely, though one could make them out by their unblinking, black eyes and fur that was just a few shade darker than the grass.

Both of these monsters were either grazing or bounding swiftly across the field in a rather nonchalant manner.

Kuroko set his eyes on one of the rabbit-like monsters and cast his first spell towards it, though the creature seemed to sense it and bounded out of range before the attack could connect.

Just then, he heard voices.

"I swear I saw it over there!"  
_  
_"There's nobody here, spells don't just come out of nowhere, idiot."

"…Do you think it's a ghost?"

"…"

"Well, I guess you could say that it's quite…_spirited."_

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP!"

The Elf watched as a group of six bickered among themselves for a moment before choosing to reveal himself. He approached the one closest to where he stood, a male player nearly as short as he was. _Nearly._

"Um, excuse me", he said monotonously.

"HOLY SH—", the man started, though he was cut off by the rest of the groups' yells.

They all turned to look at him, completely fazed by his "sudden" appearance.

"When did you get here?", asked the first to recover**–**a short, brunette woman. She was the only female member of the group.

"Excuse me, but I have been here the entire time", he replied back under her scrutiny.

"Do you have some kind of high-level illusion spell or something? None of us could see you at all", said a player who looked to be of the Hunter class. His glasses glinted in the faux-sunlight.

The woman from earlier studied him. "He's only a beginner, there's no way he could have a spell powerful enough to trick Izuki's _Eagle's Eye."_

_Should I explain that it is not a spell? Though that might be a bit difficult._

Just then, the tallest member of the group chose that time to speak.

"You're interesting, kid! You should join our party!", he laughed boisterously.

Kuroko felt somewhat offended at being called "kid", even if he did still look like a high schooler. And not even a third-year, either.

"Kiyoshi! Don't just go asking random people to join us!", snapped the man with glasses. He turned to Kuroko, "And you! Why are you even in this monster map? They don't look like it, but these monsters here are actually really strong. A beginner Mage like you would have difficulty killing them alone."

The blue-haired man looked to the creatures and back. "This is my first time playing this game. I do not know which monsters are strong".

The first man he'd approached, the relatively short one, spoke up cheerfully, "You should go join a party or something then. Back in town there's this square where all the beginners gather and form groups. You're a Mage class player right? A lot of people like having Mages since they're good support." His cat-like lips curved upwards.

It's not like the Elf hadn't considered joining a party. He was just terrible at social interactions.

"Like I said, Koganei, he should just join us!", said the one called "Kiyoshi". "He has a pretty good skill there, it could come in handy in PVPs or something."

Again, the group bickered.

It when on for a while until Kuroko interjected:

"Excuse me, the max members a party can have on this island is six." The bluenette decidedly ended their argument.

"Oh yeah", they all said in unison, except one of their members who hadn't talked since the beginning.

The female member faced his direction. "I'm sorry for the trouble we caused you. As an apology, would you like me to teach you how to kill these monsters? Though by the looks of it, they're probably a couple levels above you. I'm actually a Mage myself, so I know a method we can use to kill them."

"That would be very much appreciated", replied Kuroko, slightly bowing. "My name is Kuroko."

"I'm Riko", she replied. She turned to the other party members, "I kinda want him to join the party too. He's actually polite! You don't see many teenagers like that these days. Err... how old are you anyway?"

The blue-haired man's blank face stared at hers for a few quiet moments.

"I am actually already twenty", he finally responded half a minute later, feeling rather resigned to this type of event.

And now the group in his vision all stared back at him.

"That's only a year younger than me, are you sure you're twenty?", the cat-like man from earlier said, pointing at himself. The bespectacled man and "Riko" both gave him a resounding smack on the head for that.

The party's female cleared her throat and spoke to change the subject, feeling Kuroko might be a bit offended. "Um, perhaps I should just go on with teaching you."

She raised her right hand in front of her and watched the field closely for movement. One of the rabbit monsters jumped, and at this moment, a ball of energy instantaneously shot from her hand and struck the creature as it landed. It's Health bar went down until the point it only had a couple more HP, though it was still alive and kicking.

It hissed and charged towards the female player, who then raised her hand straight up into the sky. She brought it down swiftly, and a column of energy struck the monster, killing it.

"These certain monsters can dodge before they're attacked, though they won't attack unless you can actually land a hit. The trick is to attack them after they jump since they have a cool-down time and can't do it again for another few seconds."

"Thank you for the information", the Elf replied politely.

He then raised his hand so that he could try attacking as well. He charged his attack as he waited for one to jump since he couldn't cast it instantaneously like the other Mage could. When one finally leapt into the air seconds later, he aimed and fired. The shot hit it dead-on. Nevertheless, the monster lived with a bit less than half its HP.

It transitioned between running and bounding towards him, and Kuroko didn't have enough experience to fire at a moving target.

A second or two later it was a few feet in front of him. The monster took a powerful flying-leap in his direction, stretching out its front legs and revealing the sharpened claws hidden beneath its downy fur.

In this situation, Kuroko realized he couldn't use _Magic Ball_ or either of his other two skills. Even though one of them was an _AOE_ skill and could probably kill the beast, Kuroko had enough sense to know he wouldn't have enough time to cast the spell, especially since he didn't practice it. _Heal_ probably wouldn't come in handy either.

And so, Kuroko followed the first impulse that came to mind.

He raised his staff and struck the creature.

Taking advantage of the time it needed to regain its footing, he fired another attack towards it. This time, when the spell connected, the monster screeched and exploded into the usual mass of scattered pixels.

_{+54 Experience}  
{Obtained: Labusa tail, 61 ladomi}*_

"Well, that's one way to use a staff."

"Pretty good for a level 10", Kiyoshi whistled.

Somehow, while the Elf was fighting, his information window had been opened and was being read by the party's members.

To view a person's information, one just had to approached them and make a certain motion in front of their person to open it. There are privacy settings so that their _RL_ data couldn't be read, but anything related to the game was free for anyone to see.

_Username: Kuroko  
Real Name: N/A  
Age: 20  
Gender: Male  
Level: 10  
Race: Light Elf  
Class: Mage  
Element(s): N/A_

"Your magic attack is quite high for your level, but your strength is pretty lacking", said Riko, "I'd find some weaker monsters if I were you. On the other side of town there are some that you could one-hit K.O. easily."

Kuroko disliked the prospect of having to hike back across town, even if it was just a half-hour's walk. "I think I will be fine just staying here", he responded, "thank you for your suggestion though, Riko-san."

Kiyoshi let out a hearty chuckle and said, "You sure you don't want to join us? We could always kick Hyuuga out." He pointed his thumb back towards the man with glasses.

"LIKE HELL YOU WOULD!", the man, now identified as "Hyuuga", roared.

Riko pushed them both out of the way. By that, I mean she literally shoved both of the tall, bulky men out of her path. "Well, we were actually leaving this island to get to the next one so that we could all get a class upgrade." She opened up her inventory and pulled out what seemed to be a scroll. "You can take my map since I won't need it anymore", she explained, handing the item to Kuroko. "Ah, thank you." He accepted it graciously, once again bending his back forward.

Ones of the members of the party who hadn't talked much, a sharp-eyed Rogue suddenly spoke. "Kitakore! Well, I hope you don't… _lose your way_ now."

"My god Izuki, you're getting even worse. That one barely made sense", Riko sighed as she covered her face with her hand.

Hyuuga had a similar reaction, though afterwards he turned to Kuroko, placed his hands on both his shoulders, and said coldly, "Change of plans. You can replace him."

"How mean."

At that moment, a small '_ping'_ sound sounded out.

_{Kiyoshi would like to become your friend}_

_"Accept Friend Request?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"  
_

**.**

"Ah! Unfair! I wanted to do that first", said Koganei, the cat-like man from earlier. He set his fingers to work and whipped up a friend request as well.

The others in the group smiled as they opened a window to send him the notification window, though Kuroko wasn't quite sure why since they'd really just met.

He looked at each new pop up in his midst.

_Kiyoshi, Koganei, Izuki, Riko, Hyuuga… Mitobe? Ah, that must be their last member._

The blue-haired elf looked towards said member, who returned him a slightly sheepish smile._"Well, I guess they all seem like nice people", _the former thought as he pressed "yes" on each of the request windows.

After a few short farewells, the party bid Kuroko adieu and went on their merry way.

"If you ever need anything, just _PM_ us!", Kiyoshi said as they walked away. "Or just meet us in the future. We'll all be stronger then, though".

The beginner Mage smiled inwardly as he watched them leave. "_I'll definitely be stronger too_", he thought as he saw them disappear into the next map area._  
_  
Staff in hand, he resumed his training.

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Usernames._

_The game's usernames are the character's real names. Many people don't find the need to change their name or use a fake one because their appearance doesn't change much anyways. About half of the players in the Japanese server use a fake name and half use a real one. Kiseki World's system allows more than one character to have the same username._

* * *

Anyways, I've written up the various scenarios that the GoM will meet Kuroko, though still deciding the order and fixing a few kinks. I hope all you readers will stay with me for the duration of this fic.

For one final side note, is anyone interested in Takao's game experience? I was planning an extra chapter just for him but I'm not sure what the feedback would be.

I hope you enjoyed reading, constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Final Final Note: This is the first chapter i'm not uploading around midnight. lol.


	5. Chapter 4: Ghost & Invite

Thank you Reviewers for the feedback. I'm glad that this fic is gaining some interest.

By the way, romance will not occur until way later. I'm a believer of 'Love does not happen like in a shoujo manga where one of the main characters falls in love in two seconds and get the other to fall in love with them too a day later'.

Also, someone finally brought up 1/2 Prince. I'm a fan of the novels of both that and SAO, they kinda serve as guidelines. I'm not basing this off them though, it's just that it's hard to write an exciting VR story without aspects overlapping.

Disclaimer: I own no part of Kuroko no Basuke, all I have is a premise.

* * *

Chapter 4: Ghost & Invite

* * *

_April 4, 2038_: Two days after the release of Akashi Industries' new VRMMO RPG, Kiseki World Online.

Two figures roamed the streets of _Tolucini_, the town of the _Kiseki World Online's_ second island.

"Nee, Aka-chin. I'm hungry", said one of them, rubbing his stomach as if to emphasize the feeling. "I want candy".

"Atsushi, there is neither food nor hunger in this game", the other said sternly.

"But I want to eat", the first said, face turned downwards in a childish pout. "Can we stop playing yet?"

The other crossed his arms.

With his red eyes glaring he said, "As I've told you before, Atsushi, we're aiming to be the strongest. Nothing less will be tolerated. I'm going to find the best pieces as my generals, but to do so I must be the most powerful of all. We can leave once we get to the next island."

"Hai", came the lazy reply.

The pair arrived at the edge of the town and walked into one of the forest paths; one that lead to the strongest monsters on the island, level 15 beasts that were similar to bears.

"Nee, Aka-chin. Can I make this quick?"

The player posing the question was named Murasakibara Atsushi, or in the game, just Murasakibara.

"Do as you will."

The other was a man known to many as Akashi Seijuurou.

In a mere hour, the two had created characters, leveled quickly, and chose their respective classes: bringing us to the point we're at now.

Murasakibara was a tall, towering man; 208 cm tall currently. His height was not the only impressive thing about him, however. He also had enormous strength and speed to match, especially because he has chosen a Beast-type character race.

Naturally, he had chosen to become part of the Fighter class.

In his hand he held a large broadsword, one of the heaviest types of weapon in the game (though of course it was really nothing to him.)

He approached one of the bear-like creatures in the field. This particular monster was an Active Aggro type, meaning it would attack any player in range without provocation.

It charged at the purple-haired giant, legs pounding on the dirt and fangs bared dangerously.

Murasakibara, however, was completely unfazed at the charging monster; if anything he thought it was boring.

He raised his broadsword above his head. The bear creature was now right in front of him, ready to attack him with its razor-sharp claws.

Then the sword was brought down.

Even though it was a low-level weapon, the simplest of all the game's broadswords in fact, the blade sliced straight through the monster in a single, clean strike.

_{+225 Experience, [+12 Party Bonus]}  
{Obtained: Kube Claw, Kube Pelt, 268 ladomi} *_

As he said, he'd make short work of them. He did want to eat after all. On another part of the map, the second man stood.

He had chosen to become an Elf player, a Mage class. In his hand was a short staff, a somewhat rare (but not unique) item gained by randomizing during his class change.

Currently, two of the _Kube _were hell-bent on stampeding him, each on one of his opposite sides from the other.

With minimal movement, Akashi gracefully side-stepped from the carnage zone and the two monsters collided with each other head on; they fell to the ground in a heap of fur and claws.

Silently, the crimson-haired Mage raised his free hand towards them.

Two large balls of energy shot out in succession from his open palm, killing both of the bear monsters on impact.

_{+225 Experience, [+12 Party Bonus]}_  
_{Obtained: Kube Claw, 259 ladomi} *_

_{+225 Experience, [+12 Party Bonus]}_  
_{Obtained: Kube Claw, Kube Pelt, 278 ladomi} *_

_{Akashi has leveled up!: level 11}_

It went on more a few minutes more before both of the pair had become level 15 without a single hit point worth of damage done to either of them.

The two were now qualified for another class change. They walked further into the forest; All paths through it eventually led to the port at the end of the island. Their destination was the game's third island, _Aforia_. Though I say island, it was really more of a continent.

The island was home to four cities each located on a different edge of it. Each city was where a certain class could advance to their next stage.

When they got to the city, the two (or more specifically, Akashi), planned first to change classes once again, then find and recruit party members worthy of the boarded the ferry along with the other players in the game, settling in a corner of the ship and sitting on the wooden boards that were the floor.

The tall Beast-man spoke to the other in a private messenger.

_"Why are we doing this again, Aka-chin? We're GMs. We're already the strongest."_

"Because, Atsushi, we're becoming the strongest through our own power. There would be no challenge to just do away with someone at the flick of a finger. Besides, even without being a Game Master, there's no chance that we'd ever lose in any fight. All that I dictate is absolute."

The taller man flopped onto his back, sprawled out on the floor. He already knew that nothing he said could change the other's mindset in the slightest. They had, after all, been friends since their childhood days.

Only a few seconds passed before he asked, _"When we stop playing, can we get snacks?"_

The red-haired man lips turned up in a small smirk-like smile knowing the other would not try to oppose him. One of the things he hated most in life was disobedience.

_"Of course"._

* * *

_April 24, 2038._

Kuroko stared at the staff in his hands. Somehow, it looked _different _than before.

About an hour ago it had been the color of milk chocolate, but now it had changed into an ebony shade of brown.

It also seemed to be growing; changing shape to be more exact.

Whereas previously it had been straight at the top, the staff's length had grown and was now curving inwards into itself.

The weapon's stats had changed as well. Kuroko hadn't noticed it until now but it, along with him, had become stronger. The previously level 8 weapon was now a good 11.

_"This is probably what the system meant by a 'unique' item", _he thought as he studied it.

The blue-haired man had been training at least a good hour, and was level 14 himself; almost ready to follow the party he'd met to the next island.

He had also learned six new spells, though he chose to save the rest of his skill and slot points for when he got a class change.

Blue eyes scanned the meadow.

People had been coming into this map often, only to run out the next minute as if they'd seen a ghost. They probably thought they had. What they didn't see, however, was Kuroko.

He supposed it was good to have the map by itself, he could test his skills and kill monsters without interruption; though he was a bit irked that even while attacking using _glowing balls of energy_ he still went by unnoticed.

A pale hand was raised to the sky as Kuroko concentrated on lengthening the range of the spell he was casting. It was one of the spells Riko had used earlier, a single strike attack that was better to use when the rabbit monsters charged towards him.

While _Magic Ball_ had to be aimed at a target manually, this spell, _Judgment_, would attack any monster the user could keep their eyes on. The _Labusa_ (The rabbit monster he'd been leveling on) he'd targeted died on impact.

_{+54 Experience}  
{Obtained: Labusa tail, 63 ladomi}*_

By now, training was feeling rather slow.

Kuroko's mind tried reasoning with himself that this is how solo player Mages like him were supposed to train: with monsters kill-able in one hit, slowly gaining experience and levels. He was starting to get bored of the mindless grinding though.

And so, he turned to the other monster in the map.

One of the deer-like creatures stood proudly as it grazed. The blue-haired Elf had noticed that unlike the _Labusa,_ they didn't bound out of the way when your attack was too close. Earlier he had almost grazed one while aiming for one of the former monsters, but it remained upright in all its grace.

And so he positioned himself towards it. He had a gut feeling that it would be a lot stronger than what he'd faced so far.

_{Sephila's Blessing activated: Magic Attack +10}  
{Nilin's Blessing_ _activated:_ _Speed +10}_

Currently, _Magic Ball_ was the Elf's strongest skill as he had used it the most. It had taken him the good part of the hour, but he could now cast it instantly.

And so he sent one flying towards the monster.

_[-676 HP, Kanoree: {324/1000}]_

The monster turned towards him. Kuroko expected it to charge towards him like the _Labusa_ had, but it bent down and bore its antlers towards his direction.

Slowly by surely, a ball of magic just like the Mage's formed in between them.

The attack shot out, and because he'd been a bit too distracted by the fact the monster could even use a spell, it hit his left leg, causing him to collapse onto it.

_[-78 HP, Kuroko: {642/720}]_

The _Kanoree_ now ran towards him, MP having been depleted with that one attack.

The Elf managed to jump out of the way, right before he could be impaled on the monster's antlers. He cast another _Magic Ball_, creating a bloody line on the beast as it grazed its side.

_[-259 HP, Kanoree: {65/1000}]_

The monster gaze Kuroko no time to react as it slammed him to the ground using its broad hooves.

_[-163 HP, Kuroko: {484/720}]_

Along with the dizzy feeling in his head, pain radiated from the blue-haired man's sternum, the area the _Kanoree_ was currently standing on. A second later, the weight lifted from his chest.

Still rather disoriented from being tackled to the ground, he looked up, only to be greeted with the sight of the cleft appendages as they bore back down on the same spot from which they lifted.

_[-204 HP, Kuroko: {280/720}]_

The blue-haired man couldn't help but let out a small gasp in pain.

_Ugh. This hurts. Now I can see what the person who sold this to me felt like._

The mass once again lifted from the Mage. He tried to find the strength to lift his arms and attack, but to no avail. The man couldn't even attack with his staff as it'd been knocked away during the previous events. He grit his teeth and shut his eyes, preparing for the oncoming onslaught of pain.

But it never came.

Confused, his sapphire orbs opened themselves and, instead of a large deer-like beast, found themselves looking at an outstretched hand.

He grabbed it, and felt himself being steadied as he was hoisted to his feet. A second later the hand was replaced by his missing staff.

"You all right?", asked a some-what deep and rough voice.

"Ah, yes. Thank you", the mage replied as he waited for his vision to stop spinning. He had never been in a fight or anything similar before, so being purposely knocked to the ground was a new experience for him.

After a few seconds, Kuroko's mind cleared enough to the point where he could study the man standing in front of him.

The other was what looked to be of the Fighter class, a beginner's long sword in his right hand. He was visibly taller than Kuroko by a large margin; the Elf guessed he was slightly more than six feet.

He was a Dark Elf; no wait, upon closer inspection, Kuroko could see that the other had normal ears, meaning his tanned skin was natural and he was a Human-type player.

The other smiled a toothy grin at him and asked, "this your first time playing a game like this?"

The Elf gave a small nod.

"Man, I was pretty damn surprised when one of those monsters started rampaging out of nowhere. I thought it was some kind of glitch or something. It took me a while to realize you were being attacked. I was actually pretty freaked out because I thought you were an actual ghost or something. The rumors are kinda off."

_Ghost? Ah, he must mean me._

"Since I'm here though, wanna help each other level? I have another friend who should be coming here soon, so you could join our party."

The blue-haired Elf responded in his usual monotone, "I'm afraid I would be a burden to you. I've just started playing and don't know very well how to fight."

The dark-skinned man just replied , "Me and my friend actually just started playing too. It'd be nice to have another party member, we don't have a mage, and you seem pretty strong actually. Besides, you don't actually seem much like the type that likes to play alone. Or at least that's my intuition."

The shorter man thought about it for a moment.

This other person seemed very friendly, even almost pushy. Besides, the stranger's intuition was right. Kuroko didn't actually want to play alone, he just feel awkward about social interactions and trying to find a party. He would've trained with Takao, but by the time the other had gotten him to start playing, they were already too many levels and islands apart.

He looked at the other, who'd placed a hand on his hair while waiting for a response (Unlike the black Kuroko had originally thought it was, it was more of a misleading dark blue). The tan player smiled again when he caught the other's eyes. _He really does seem genuinely kind._

And so, the light-blue haired man replied, "If it's not too much trouble then, please accept me into your party."

The taller man's smile widened further, and he slapped Kuroko on the back heartily. "You should meet my friend, actually, I think I see her now.

Another figure came into Kuroko's view.  
When the shape moved towards them, Kuroko could see that it was a woman with long, waist-length pink hair. In his opinion, she was rather pretty (though to the majority of the male population, she'd be considered a beauty).

She stomped closer to the pair, irritation evident on her face.

"How dare you leave me behind, Dai-chan! The ghost thing was just a rumor you know. All I did was turn my back for one second to get some potions and you disappear!"

"My bad."

She huffed in annoyance. "Really, why do I put up with you", she sighed, turning around and crossing her arms. She let out a small squeak when she came face-to-face with large,blank blue eyes.

She jumped away and ran behind the Warrior (an alternate name for the Fighter class). The pinkette pointed an accusatory figure towards Kuroko and stuttered, "D-Dai-chan! It's a g-ghost!"

The man nicknamed 'Dai-chan' just laughed. "Oh yeah, this dude is joining our party."

"He's a player?"

The woman stopped hiding behind the other's back, her face flushed a bit in embarrassment. She shuffled around a bit nervously before apologizing about mistaking Kuroko as an apparition.

"Oh yeah, come to think of it, we don't know each other's names."

"Dai-chan! That's rude! You should always introduce yourself first."

She sighed once again, and turned to the Elf.

"I'm sorry about him. My name's Momoi Satsuki and I'm a Rogue class player", she said cheerfully. The woman then pointed to her friend. "This guy is Aomine Daiki. He's a Fighter class player, though I'm sure you've noticed. We've been playing games like this together for a few years now. Nice to meet you."

The blunette Elf noted she seemed quite used to the other man's whims as she'd accepted the notion of him joining them easily.

"My name is Kuroko Tetsuya". He hadn't been planning to tell them his first name when he introduced himself, but he felt the need to since Momoi had.

"So it's Tetsu", the tall man all but stated as he moved his fingers fluidly across a panel screen.

_{Aomine has invited you to join a party}_

_"Would you like to accept?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

**.  
**

_**"Yes"***_

_"No"_

_{Kuroko has joined a party}_

* * *

Its extras time~

_Kiseki World Online: Damage System_

In Kiseki World Online, damage received depends on not only your enemy's strength, but your defense. Mages have high magic defense, but low physical defense; which is why Kuroko took the damage he did above. Fighters are the opposite.

If you'll notice though, the numbers just slightly don't add up. All players have a passive regeneration rate. Kuroko being the class and level he is has a really low one. Monsters don't regenerate unless they have a heal spell or are no longer engaged in combat.

* * *

Wheee. The GoM are appearing. I can't wait to start writing PvP fight scenes.

Btw, I'll be following a plotline similar to the actual manga, though the teams won't be the same and a few other aspects have been re-arranged.

Also, I apologize for those of you who thought the pairing was Aokuro. It will not be. /bows a hundred times. Perhaps I should just tell you my OTP already.

I really am trying to write longer chapters. This one is average length for me, though I'm really busy this week. Too many tests and too much homework for me to be able to write in peace.

If there's anything anybody doesn't understand, you can PM me~

Anyways, feedback is always welcome here~


	6. Chapter 5: Trio & Class (2)

Many people have asked about the pairing. I think this is the time where I morph into a full-fledged troll and write confusing or cryptic messages. Hopefully people will still care to read.

Kamiya Hiroshi and Ono Kensho are my favorite seiyuu.

No one gets any promises.

Midorima has the most beautiful eyelashes.

Omg chapter 205.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke. It'd be terrible if I did. I don't even know the rules of basketball ;-;

* * *

Chapter 5: Trio & Class (2)

* * *

After forming their three-man (techincally two men and one woman) party, the trio proceeded to train in a different map area. In it resided the strongest monsters on the island, bear-like creatures the creators had named "_Kube"._

Momoi, who had furiously studied up on the online forums even before she and Aomine had started playing the game, had reasoned it'd be easier and quicker for them to level there instead of staying where they were.

The _Kube_ had high HP and attack power but low tolerance for magic attacks, like one would typically expect from a strength-based monster in the game. The peach-haired woman had surmised that the most appropriate route of action would be for Aomine to tank while she and Kuroko would attack from the side and back.

Before the Mage had joined their party, the pair had been planning to train on the _Kanoree_ because, having higher magic capability meant they had only a small amount of physical defense.

It was only a few minutes into their _Kube_ grinding and Kuroko couldn't help but be impressed by the duo's prowess.

Momoi was a Rogue, and though the bluenette knew that they were the fastest class in the game, he was still slightly surprised by the level of mastery she had moving that quickly while slashing at monsters and quickly jumping out of range without so much as a scratch. Her dagger handling was quite impressive, as she could locate the bear creature's weak points and strike with a great precision one wouldn't expect at this level. Of course, she had studied where they were beforehand, but that's not the point.

Aomine, on the other hand, was an even more overwhelming than she was.

Not only was he as powerful as the game dictated a Warrior should be, but he was also unbelievably fast. At the current moment, his speed was almost on par with Momoi's. His sword handling was quite erratic, but even with all his unnecessary and exaggerated movements, it was still difficult for the monsters to hit him. Kuroko had noted that he had no specific fighting style, he would just hack and stab or parry; whatever he wanted to do, just going along with the flow of his weapon.

By no means, however, was Kuroko any sort of burden to them.

He just didn't give himself much credit for his work.

Perhaps it was his years of experience with the art of human observation, but he somehow could work very much in sync with the other two.

The spells he cast never hit or even hindered them in the slightest; a rhythm formed between their attacks, so friendly fire wasn't apparent in their endeavors. Surprisingly to himself, Kuroko was also a pretty great support Mage–it almost rivaled how he was when on the offensive.

When he wasn't casting an offensive spell, he'd be perfectly healing and buffing the other two in near-perfect intervals.

Though it seemed strange to him, his healing spells were just about as potent as his attacks. He hadn't known this before since he hadn't felt much of a need to use them when he could just one-hit K.O. the monsters he'd hunted.

Being able to heal and buff gave him a slight sense of accomplishment, seeing as he was able to help in more ways than one.

The next half-hour or so passed as the three adventurers hunted.

Now, at the current moment, Aomine was level seventeen while Kuroko was fifteen. And Momoi? Fourteen**–**though she wasn't too far from the next level. Earlier, the Elf and the pinkette had both told the Fighter that he should have gone to the next island himself to get a class change. Despite their urging, however, he insisted on staying and overseeing their training.

The party's female had told him it wasn't a good choice, though the tan man didn't care too much about it.

_Kiseki World Online's_ skill point system worked the following way: skills or spells only required one skill point for their basic forms. The main ways to make your skill more powerful are continual use, getting an elemental attribute (Skills could also be upgraded using elements, though that required another skill point), and the most generic method, leveling up.

Of course, it got harder to level as the game progressed, so Aomine was doing himself no favors by staying with the other two.

Kuroko supposed he was just that kind of person, like that character in a shoujo manga who gives up their umbrella for the abandoned kitten. It usually was the gruffer ones, after all.

The Elf shook off the thought though**–**he was getting distracted and the three were still fighting.

Aomine had switched to a weaker weapon so as to let Momoi level more quickly, but even the lightest attacks would still bring the _Kube_ down a few hundred points. Kuroko himself was working mostly on healing and buffing, only attacking when he wanted to distract the monster so that the pinkette could have an easier time delivering a finishing blow.

The peach-haired woman turned the knife in her hand and dug it deep into the monster's flank, then she swiftly jumped high into the air when it turned to paw at her.

_[-354 HP, Kube: {839/4000}]_

The beast, no longer being able to locate her, turned to Aomine who was standing nearby.

He decided to just lay off weapons completely and shifted around to lead the monster into range for Momoi's next attack.

Up above, the pinkette let gravity turn her back towards the ground, now executing a move Kuroko had now seen from her multiple times since they'd started training.

In the Rogue class, there was a skill called _Burst _which gave the user a quick and explosive speed boost. Most people didn't use it like this, but it worked rather effectively.

Momoi flew down fast and hard, bringing her dagger into the flesh of the beast's neck.

The creature fell, and the woman pulled her dagger out mid-fall, executing a graceful flip before a perfect landing.

_{+225 Experience, [+20 Party Bonus]}  
{Obtained: Kube Claw, Kube Pelt, 277 ladomi} *_

_{Momoi has leveled up!: level 15}_

She wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled brightly at the other two, as if she hadn't just drove her knife into a ferocious beast's neck. "Shall we move on?"

By this time though, the taller man was already strolling toward one of the the map's exit.

"Dai-chan, you jerk!", she yelled out, even though she was already starting to trail behind him.

In the course of the next few minutes, the trio boarded the ship that would to this world's third island, _Aforia_.

According to Momoi, _Aforia _was comprised of four large cities, each corresponding to a different, basic character class. Besides that, there was also a town in the middle of the island that most players used as a checkpoint for their travels.

The three members of the party decided that they'd all go to their respective cities separately, so as to have time to meet up again later.

Speaking of time, Kuroko checked it. _12:46 P.M._

He'd been playing for about four hours, even if to him it felt shorter than that. He supposed that's what virtual reality does to you; it seemed like it could become an addiction–like coffee or cigarettes.

"Hey Tetsu, what class are you gonna be?"

The sky-haired man took a second to process what the other said, and another to think about how to answer the question. He turned his vision towards the planks that formed the ship's deck.

"I am not sure", he replied honestly. "Do you know what you want to be?"

The tan-skinned man grinned and said proudly, "I'm gonna become a Paladin! They're pretty kickass. Plus, out of the Swordsmen type classes, they have the best Magic skills."

"And you, Momoi-san?", the bluenette asked, craning his neck to look at the pick-haired Rogue.

"I was thinking of becoming a Bandit, but I think I'm gonna try a Scout instead. Then I might want to upgrade to a Spy later because they can do some pretty cool things", the woman replied, maneuvering her fingers to open up and connect to the internet forums.

Kuroko thought of his own choices: As a Mage, he had four.

First, there was the Wizard class, also known as the Sorcerers (the more popular title by far). This class focused mostly on strong offensive spells, so they had little defense, buff, or healing skills to learn. Out of the four, they were the most generic.

Next was the Summoner class. As one could probably just by hearing their name, they were a class that summoned creatures to help them**–**usually to aid in battle, sometimes for traveling long distances. Most Summoners had a tipped balance with a lot more _INT_ than anything else.

Then there were the Clerics, also known as the Healer or Priest class. The Cleric class had healing spells, buffs, and attacks spells that were most effective when of the _light_ element. Like the rest of the Magic-based classes, they were very much sought after due to their great supportive abilities.

Finally, there were the Necromancers. These types made use of "raising the dead" to fight, and were very much like Summoners. Besides that though, they had a multitude of _dark_ element attack spells and de-buffs on their palettes. In comparison to the rest, these had the most balanced stats.

All the last three were allowed to learn the basic Wizard spells, though many chose to keep their specialization and skill points.

After a session of contemplation, it was Aomine's voice that brought him out of his thoughts.

"Hey, Tetsu. You're a pretty cool dude, ya know?", he started, grinning. "You should come with me and Satsuki."

I want to join the strongest guild and make it the best! and some,how I think you'd make a pretty good edition to the team." He positioned his back onto the wooden floor and looked up to the vastness of the almost too-blue sky above. "I'm gonna become the strongest Fighter in the game, and I'm not gonna let anything stop me!", he said, determined as he threw a fist up into the air.

Momoi giggled to herself before saying, "that's so cliché, Dai-chan."

The tall man turned over to hide his slightly pinked cheeks.

"… Shut up."

Kuroko's lips curved up just a bit as well, before falling back into their usual place on his face.

"I would like to take you up on that offer", the Mage spoke monotonously, flopping down onto the floor next to the Warrior.

"It sounds nice; I would want to become the best as well."

The female of the group joined the two, her movements mimicking the other two by falling back with a light "_thud_". She then mumbled something along the lines of, "What is with men and power?".

Nevertheless, she contributed to their little chat. "...Maybe I'll become the best Spy", she joked lightly.

The three lazily continued on about this topic of discussion for the remainder of the boat ride (it was mainly Aomine, but the other two would at least interject every once in a while).

Soon though, they arrived at the port leading to the central town, _Medias__._

The town was a bit rustic, but that didn't override the cheerfulness of the colorful streamers and decorations hanging and covering just about every building and cart in the vicinity. It was like an village during a major festivity, like the birth of a prince or the winning of a war. Players of all kinds crowded the stone walkways, all going about on their gaming business**–**whatever it was.

The three made their way toward the town square where they could refill any potion stock they needed or buy new equipment from the game's NPC vendors.

When they finally finished, the three said their farewells and split ways to go to their respective towns**–**though not before Aomine remembered to send Kuroko a friend request.

He accepted, of course.

* * *

The trek to the Magician's town was not a pleasant one, even if there were no monsters or detours on the way. Kuroko had been trudging on the first path for the last twenty-seven minutes (yes, he had been keeping track) and only now was the city in his sight. The distance between towns was much shorter compared to what it'd be like in real life, but since this was a game, it felt a bit too slow.

This was especially true for Mages, unless they were high enough level to be able to get what players had dubbed "travel spells". This category pretty much included things like teleporting, mounting some kind of monster familiar, or having some really good speed buffs.

Too bad for Kuroko. He was only level 15.

In the times the Light Elf hadn't been watching the clock, he'd been thinking about what class he should upgrade to; he also spent some time deliberating whether he should actually get an upgrade or not.

It wasn't required for a player to change their class, but Kuroko was one of the players who felt it'd be better to specialize and be strong in at least one thing.

All-around players weren't all that popular these days, most like because they weren't as useful during a hunt or PVP.

And so, Kuroko had narrowed his choice to either be a Wizard or Cleric. Should he become a Wizard because they were powerful? Or a Cleric because they were one of the best support classes?. The other two choices weren't considered long because the bluenette didn't think they would be too helpful in a party.

He walked into the city, passing the stone arch with its name,_ Arsajia_, carved into it.

Like the last village, _Arsajia_ was also like something you'd see in a well-off, fanciful, medieval town. Instead of brightly colored banners though, most of the buildings had giant, flaring vines and other strange foliage creeping up their sides. Some had artfully designed flowers hanging from them, much like the ones Kuroko had seen on those deer monsters from before.

The blue-haired man briskly maneuvered through the other Mages in the town, eyes on another gigantic class change building, though this one was considerably less extravagant than the last.

Instead of a castle, there was a "Council Hall" for a Mage's level two class change.

When he walked in, all the other players once again disappeared from his vision into their own personal cyberspaces. _  
_

It was then that Kuroko found himself in front of the four Mage NPCs.

"_Halt! Who goes there? How did you get past the guards!?"_

"This again?", the bluenette thought. He was fairly certain those were the exact same words used at castle. If he checked back, he would've known he was right.

_"State thy business!", _one of the NPCs ordered arrogantly._  
_  
_  
{I was sent here by the King of Tolucini. I am here to further increase my knowledge of Magic}*_

{_I am here to clean the dining hall.}_

**.**

**_{I was sent here by the King of Tolucini. I am here to further increase my knowledge of Magic}*_**

{_I am here to clean the dining_ _hall.}_

**.**

_"Ah! You must be the __Kuroko__ that we've heard so much about!"_

_"We will gladly help you in your studies, but you must choose a mentor."_

_**.**_

"Please select the class you would like to become."

**.**

_{Wizard}*_

_{Summoner}_

_{Cleric}_

_{Necromancer}_

**.**

Still rather undecisive, Kuroko opened his inventory and pulled out a single ladomi. Luck did well last time, so who's to say it could go badly now?

On the silver coin, Kuroko dubbed the two sides as either Wizard or Cleric.

He flipped it with his thumb, and watched it sail into the air. The Elf held out the back of his hand to catch it, his other hand ready to clasp down on it when it landed.

He had misjudged the distance of his flip, however, so the Mage proceeded to step forward to try and catch it.

And promptly tripped on the train of his robe.

_{-22 HP, Kuroko: 778/800}_

The coin clattered on the ground, and Kuroko felt his face heat up a bit (not that his expression changed, he just felt warm). It felt rather embarrassing, even if no one else was around to see it, which he was grateful for. The bluenette stood up, dusted himself off, and then walked toward the fallen piece of currency that had landed a couple feet away.

Tails.

{Wizard}

_{Summoner}_

_{Cleric}*_

_{Necromancer}_

**.**

_{Wizard}_

_{Summoner}_

_**{Cleric}***_

_{Necromancer}_

**.**

_{Kuroko has become a Cleric!}_

* * *

I am so bad at transitions. This chapter may have been a bit awkward, so I'm sorry about that. The plot line I wrote somehow changed in the middle of writing~

The next chapter will be in a P.O.V. that's not Kuroko's~

Hope you enjoyed reading~

Feedback is welcome~


	7. Chapter 6: Tournament & Forfeit

I think this is the most exciting chapter I've done so far.  
Sorry shippers, you'll have to read and find out. Maybe.

Thanks for the reviews though~ It makes me a very happy Orange.

Edit: a very happy GPS.

Disclaimer: I don't own KnB. I can only wish.

* * *

Chapter 6: Tournament & Forfeit

* * *

_Would you like to send __Kuroko__ a friend request?_

_"Yes"*_

"_No"_

**.**

_**"Yes"***_

"_No"_

**.**

_"Friend request has been sent."_

_Kuroko__ has accepted your friend request._

**.**

Aomine Daiki made his way toward the Fighter's city, _Verran_.

It's been about ten minutes since he and his companions had split ways from the central town. As of now, he was nearing a wood-and-stone city and could start to make out the various sounds of chatter and clamor coming from the players in the area.

The blue-haired man entered the gates and trailed along one of the paved paths toward the town square. He wanted to get his level two class upgrade quickly.

He was pretty (more like extremely) ecstatic about this game. For years, he's been an avid gamer, going through just about every video and computer game he could find. He quickly found out that none were nearly as satisfying as Virtual Realities.

The Warrior remembered when, just a few months ago, he'd been playing another popular VR game, _Teiko Revolution Online–_which, by the way, is said to be _KWO_'s predecessor. Both were made by the same company_._

At the time of its release, which was sometime around four years ago, it too had rose up and gathered a great deal of popularity. Aomine, having been fifteen at the time (the minimum legal age to be able to access the program), had been one of the many thousands of people waiting in the first line to get his hands on a copy. _Teiko Revo (_the fan's nickname for the game)had been an MMORPG similar to _Kiseki World_ in many aspects, though it couldn't match up at all when compared closely.

Aomine could feel it; the difference was in the swing of his sword.

A few months ago, when _KWO_ had been officially announced to the world, the videogame community flew into hysterical, chaotic frenzy. When the game _actually_ came out, about a fifth of _TRO's_ entire gaming population had quit, so as to expend all their time playing _Kiseki World_.

Another week or two after (which leads to the time now), about half had left.

For good.

No one could blame them though. The difference between the two games were two extreme. The features of _Kiseki World Online _were too realistic and vivid and just downright exhilarating. The senses one could feel were just too potent to be able to put down the VR helmet. The only thing that could stop the most dedicated of players was the automatic log-out that occurred every seven hours.

Aomine himself would have loved to start playing earlier, but he was merely a normal college student. He had taken up several more part-time jobs, and, after two or three months of balancing that with school, rent, and _TRO_ (he had to say his final goodbyes to that world being the loyal fanboy he was), he finally managed to scrape up enough saved-up cash to buy it.

And oh did he love it.

Here, in this reality, he could release his full potential.

Unlike in _TRO,_ _Kiseki World_ had a system that based your stats off the real world. The skills here weren't only limited to what the creators made, one could integrate their own styles and techniques into game play. And best of all:

The magic.

Traditionally, most games of any kind didn't allow Warrior type characters to have magic other than the simplest of simple. Swordsmen were purely contact fighters, according to the game makers.

_Kiseki World_ had something called "_elements_". For Fighters, they weren't long-range missiles or AOEs, they were manipulable add-ons capable of dramatically shifting the weight in a fight.

And what a difference they made.

The tan-skinned man had seen it through videos on the internet. It was pretty damn invigorating (not his words**–**most of his words were a max of three syllables) to see flames surrounding a sword or an axe instead of a staff or wand.

Aomine had always wondered what it'd be like to be able to use magic. He could've simply become a Mage, but he simply just loved cutting down foes way too much to. And he didn't do support. Ever.

Finally, he arrived in the Warrior's haven that was _Verran_. Now that he was here, he could see what a Swordsman's magic was like with his very own eyes, and feel what it entailed through his own hands.

Right after a class upgrade.

He continued on into the city, into the crowded town square when he suddenly heard:

"_Step right up! Come join our third weekly Fighter's Tournament! The winner will win a hefty sum of prize money, as well as a special, unique item. All players level 15 to 20 are eligible to try their hand at winning riches and glory. It only costs a sum 5,000 ladomi to enter! "_

The NPC had Aomine at "_tournament_".

Momentarily forgetting about his class change, the blue-haired man hurriedly strode up to a large panel where he could register for the battles, which were scheduled to start in the next six minutes.

While waiting, he read the overview and guild lines.

_Let's see… For each round, half the participants will drop out… blah blah blah… five minute time limit… magic is allowed… yada yada… man… she has a nice rack…_

And Aomine Daiki is officially distracted.

To reiterate the rules and guide line in a basic manner though:

_1. Each round, the total amount of participants will be cut in half. When the number starts getting lower, participants are put into three-way matches until eight are left. Then the cutting in half commences once more.  
2. If no one is killed during the five-minute time limit, the winner is the one with more HP in relativity to their full amount of HP. Players will not regenerate HP while fighting.  
3. Magic attacks and skills are allowed. Potions and other similar items, however, are not.  
4. When the tournament starts, participants will be sent to a randomized fighting plain, which will most likely vary from round to round.  
5. After each match, a player HP and MP will be healed to the max.  
_  
All matches would also be broadcasted on cyber panels that the audience could choose from to watch.

According to the number of listed participants (which was still growing), there would be about two-thousand matches to start off the first round.

Aomine was pumped. While he loved hacking at monsters, the best challenge was always a good old PVP.

The signal sounded.

_"All Fighter Tournament participants will now be transported to a random dueling plain. If you wish to drop out of the tournament, please do so now."_

_5…_

_4…_

_3…_

_2…_

_1…_

_0!_

_"The tournament has officially started!"_

The Warrior grinned as his body disappeared, and he closed his eyes as his vision started to fade to white.

* * *

When the blue-haired man opened his eyes, he was standing on a wide, grassy plain. His first opponent appeared as well, some thirty meters away.

_"The match will begin in three seconds."_

Aomine got ready to charge.

_2…_

He gripped his sword a little tighter.

_1…_

His eyes glowed with anticipation.

_0!_

_"Start!"_

Aomine shot forward like a bullet, his feet leaving deep depressions in the dirt he had uncovered with his aggressive run.

His enemy, a level 18 player with the username of "InfernoBlade_"_ stood with a flamberge in his gloved hands.

_This dude is too cliché…_

In the span of two seconds, the tan-skinned man reached his target, who had an dumb-struck look on his slightly rounded face.

Aomine swung his blade down and diagonally, cutting into InfernoBlade's shoulder and grazing rest of his torso, leaving a bloody red line in its wake.  
_  
[-1634_ _HP, InfernoBlade: {3766/5400}]_

While letting out a pained groan, the other player jumped back before more damage could be done.

But of course, Aomine wouldn't just leave it at that. No, no , no. He was in this tournament to fight to his heart's content, and no one would be able to stop him. Perhaps he would even win, who knows?.

Again, the blue-haired man leapt towards his opponent, who seemed more ready to block this time. When the tanned man attacked**–**the same way as before**–**InfernoBlade raised his flamberge into a defensive positing.

Sadly for him, the other's long sword never made the contact he expected it would.

While in the middle of his swing, Aomine had stopped it, and instead spun around the other way, slicing him deep in his gut.

_[-2078 HP, InfernoBlade: {1688/3766}]_

The wounded warrior gave out a furious roar, desperately letting out a long combo attack in an effort to gain some leverage in this losing battle.

... Only to have the bluenette dodge and his sword meet the air each time. Sweat began dripping from his face, having been exhausted by his futile onslaught attempts.

In a final, systemated move, the blue-haired man's long sword slashed through the other, effectively ending his misery. He broke into a mass of pixels, regenerating back into the town square.

And Aomine**–**

**–**He stood, victorious.

_"Round 1 Match 147, Winner: Aomine, Time: 00:27"_

* * *

The tall man waited for his next duel.

_Hopefully, I'll get a stronger opponent._

The time for the next match could not have come more slowly, as least to his impatient mind.

_"The match will begin in three seconds."_

**.**

**.**

.

_"Start!"_

This time, Aomine's opponent was a female player**–**a level 17 Dragoon. Her username identified her as _"_Misuzu". The man guessed she was around her early twenties, judging by her fresh, unwrinkled face and supple bosom.

Okay, just kidding about that last part. Aomine wasn't stupid enough to anger a woman right before a fight. He had (and still does) with Momoi, and he hasn't won a single one.

The pair of Fighters both rushed each other, meeting in the middle on their sandy battlefield.

Two swords crossed, and a loud "_clang"_ resounded from them as they struck one another.

Aomine grinned a little. This woman was at least proving more skillful than the last guy.

Both jumped back a bit, though Aomine quickly closed the distance again. He found a small hole in her defense, and took a fencing lunge towards it.

_[-813 HP, Misuzu: {3587/4400}]  
_

It seemed like crying out in pain wasn't optional. The male Warrior felt kinda bad about it, even if it's what matches like this dictated.

Misuzu quickly recovered though; the virtual blood dripping from her side soon stopped its flow and she began attacking once more.

In the space between them, the iron blades crossed once again. This time, however, Aomine felt a dull pain vibrate through his right arm.

_[-205 HP, Aomine: {6995/7200}]  
_

"Why do you have so much HP?", she commented to herself more than asked, before shuffling back once again.

_Wait, what? Her sword was right there…_

That was when he noticed it. On his arm where he felt the most pain, sharp thorns were embedded, though they disappeared the next second.

_What did sh–!_

His sentence was left unfinished as Misuzu charged forward, intending to kill if she could.

The bluenette took a few steps back, but then he felt something coil around his ankle. Within the next moment, he fell onto his back.

The Dragoon woman jumped up high above him and made use of the gravity bonus, grounding her sword straight through his abdomen.

_…Gah!… shit, that hurts._

_[-957 HP, Aomine: {6038/7200]_

Around the blue-haired Warrior's left ankle was a small, thick vine sprouted from the sandy ground.

_A Magic-user. Plant Magic._

Though he was still currently pinned to the ground, Aomine took a swing at the female player, who withdrew herself and her sword for a second.

It was all he needed.

Taking advantage of that time, the tanned-skin man cut the vine and followed the woman as she tried to run.

She gritted her teeth as they collided. This time, and this time, Aomine decided to get more serious.

He put more strength into his push against her, their weapons both moving toward her direction. She took a step back. He took a step forward.

Then Aomine felt that pain in his arm. This time though, he realized what the source was.

He hadn't been paying attention before, but this time he saw the Dragoon's left hand face his way. The small thorns she used were shooting from her fingertips. Overall, it wasn't a very strong skill, but it was good for making the opponent lose their grip or focus.

The male Warrior shifted his sword to block the rest of the pesky projectiles as they shot toward him.

Now, he started to push with the majority of his strength, knocking the other's blade right out of her hands.

Misuzu's sword flew far away; in front of Aomine, she was now defenseless.

The woman tried to scramble for her sword, but the other had decided that now would be the time to end the match. He was much faster than her, evidently shown by his reaching her sword before she could.

He positioned his sword to use one of his skills, "_perforate",_ which was a single stab with a concentrated attack power and a small shockwave around it.

In a single, powerful thrust with his blade, Misuzu returned to the town square.

_"Round 2 Match 8, Winner: Aomine, Time: 01:04"_

This pattern went on for the majority of the bluenette Warrior's battles. Some were stronger than others, some more skillful, and some smarter, yet he always won.

Aomine himself knew it.

He was constantly getting more powerful. Faster. More knowledgable. This game's system allowed that. No, it wasn't that his opponents were weak, it was simply that he was strong. No matter what the enemy was, whether a Swordsman or Brawler, fire or water element, he felt like he could take them all on.

Before long and before he'd noticed it, it was time for the final round of the tournament.

The spectators outside the secluded arena cheered as they saw the last two participants appear in their battlefield.

"_Final Round, Aomine vs. Murasakibara!"_

Aomine looked at his last opponent for this tournament. The dude before this one was strong. Maybe not enough to beat Aomine, but he was close. Extremely so.

And so, he thought, "t_his one must be even better._"

For this round, he would be duking it out against a Beserker class Warrior. One who was intimidatingly tall, though not really intimidating to him.

"Damn. You're huge."

The 6'10 man's violet eyes looked lazily in his direction. His shoulder-length purple hair fluttered lightly in the wind.

"I'm hungry…"

_"The match will begin in three seconds."_

Aomine got into fighting position: knees slightly bent, sword somehow gripped both tightly and loosely, eyes trained on the man before him.

_"Start!"_

The other man's disinterest disappeared, replaced by a sterner expression. It seems they could each see the other as serious opponents.

He blocked Aomine's first attack, but the other's long sword pulled back with inhumane speed and slashed him; he seemed to not care even as crimson liquid started to drip down his sides.

_[-573 HP, Murasakibaka: {_12827_/13400}]_

"Holy shit! What did you have to eat to get these stats."

The other brought his broadsword down in reply.

The blue-haired man's sword met his, tiny sparks flying in between the two beginner weapons.

_"Oh fuck, shit, fuck fuck fuck."_

The man in front of him now grabbed his weapon with both hands; Aomine could now feel himself being overpowered, even as he used his full strength. At least he was putting up a fight though.

When the strain became too much for his arms, the tan-skinned man escaped backwards with a powerful leap. The broadsword of his enemy clanked loudly and broke through the rock of the terrain they were in.

Deciding he couldn't beat him in a battle of strength, Aomine tried a different approach. Instead of facing his enemy and charging dead-on like before, he croached low and dived in, attacking from the side and below where the Berserker had a blind spot.

Though the other was clearly stronger than he was, Aomine had the advantage of his speed and technique.

He danced around the other, the two exchanging blows all the way.

By now, they were starting expand upon their systemated skills, though they could never catch the other head-on enough to do any real damage.

Soon, even Murasakibara was moving. Surprisingly to the bluenette, he was actually pretty fast for such a big guy.

The battle had been going on for around six minutes (the final round got unlimited time). By now, the blood was pretty much spilled everywhere on their bodies and both players were starting to sweat and breathe faster, though neither was letting up at all.

The purple-headed man was now openly attacking, lunging with the ferocity of a charging bull against the smaller man's long sword.

It was then that a small "_ping!" _sounded out to him.

With one look at the message that just appeared, the ferocious monster in front of Aomine calmed back into the apathetic man from before the beginning of their duel. The smaller Fighter stood, confused as to why.

"Sorry Mine-chin. Have to go. We can finish our match some other time."

"Wait wha–"

But before he knew what was going on, the Beserker had already forfeited the match.

_"Final Round, Winner: Aomine, Time: 06:18"_

_{Aomine has won the Beginner's Fighter Tournament!}_  
_{Aomine has obtained: Unique Item, 1,000,000 ladomi}_

The Warrior materialized back in the town. Though he was happy he won, he was unsatisfied by the way the match ended.

The spectators were as well, so he ran to _Verran's_ Town Hall.

_Oh well. What's done is done. What was that guy's name again? Musa… Muramaha…Maramero… Goddamnit brain!_

He discarded his efforts to remember Murasakibara's name, instead remembering something else.

His weapon.

He opened up his inventory.

"Equip _{Hakua}_"

_"..."_

_"..."_

_"..."_

_Is this a joke? Some kinda weird glitch?_

In his rough, calloused hand, instead of some amazing, majestic, awesome-tastic sword like he thought it'd be, what materialized was… just a sword hilt.

Aomine studied it round-and-round, wondering if it was perhaps some sort of light saber with a button somewhere. Or maybe it was a cool invisible sword.

Nope.

No button.

No blade.

Just a handle.

And he sighed.__

Oh well. At least I still have the money.

And so, Aomine, with _Hakua_ still in hand, proceeded with his level 2 class change; He had no clue that the weapon would shape the near future of his game play, indefinitely.

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Log-in and Log-out._

_The game is made in a way that anyone who plays for eight hours straight will be automatically ejected into the real world regardless of what they're doing. This is to prevent people from dying of things like hunger or exhaustion. If a person takes less than a thirty minute break logging in and out, it'll still count as eight hours. Before the eight hours, the person gets three warnings. One at the five hour mark, one at seven, and one at seven and thirty minutes. Once a player is ejected, they aren't allowed to log in for another hour. Repeat offenders get two hours._

_Also, if a person's physical body is injured, the ejection will occur._

_Safety, people._

* * *

So how was it? Am I terrible at fight scenes?

I'm already making the characters so OP, but just wait til the future.

All criticism and feedback is welcome~


	8. Chapter 7: Points & Arrow

This update is a lot later than I intended to update this. Sorry about that, been busy with schoolwork.

With a lot of considerable contemplation, I've decided to repeat my previous statement and name my OTPs and pairings. I feel like if it drags on longer, the more people I'll disappoint. Hopefully, you wonderful readers don't stop reading because your favorite pairing isn't here, though.

They will be at the bottom of the page.

Also, this next week starts my Spring Break :D I'm planning to get three or four chapters out during this time~

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke has been disclaimed.

* * *

Chapter 7: Points & Arrow

* * *

_April 9, 2038: A week after the release of Kiseki World Online._

Midorima Shintarou had just arrived at the game's third island, _Aforia_.

If he was remembering correctly, it had been about three years since he had last played a game like this.

The green-haired man had just turned seventeen a few days after the first he'd played, another VR called _Teiko Revolution Online,_ had been released_. _

A childhood friend of his, whom he'd been connected to through familial relationships, had sent the game to him on birthday. Though the green-haired male had promptly left the box sitting in his room to collect dust for an entire week, he could no longer ignore it when he was asked–no–_ordered _to play it.

And so he did.

In that game, he'd become a Hunter type character, just like he was currently. In _Teiko_, however, that type of class was more support than anything else. And so, when his childhood friend (who had joined the game about a week before he did) suddenly quit the game, the party they'd formed with a few other acquaintances and players disbanded.

Midorima found it troublesome to have to find a new group of party members he'd most likely loathe the existence of, so the day after his friend quit, he returned the console to its box and placed it deep within his closet–hidden behind a plethora of strange little knickknacks and stuffed toys he owned.

So why was he playing this game now? Because again, he'd been _ordered_ to. Not because he wanted to. And not because he thought it was fun. Definitely not.

The bespectacled man (there had been a choice to keep the glasses when he registered) made his way to the Hunter's town, _Phaenari_ . He had been in the middle of becoming an Archer when he received a short and concise message:

_"Shintarou. You are to enter the Beginner's Tournament in the central town. It begins in two hours. You may quit once you've acquired 200 points."_

-Akashi

_How troublesome._ Midorima breathed a light sigh. He had expected this would come up sooner or later.

The green-eyed man hadn't told his friend he'd started playing, but it didn't matter anyways. Akashi always seemed to know what was going on. The Archer (Just turned) wasn't sure whether the red-head was abusing his GM functions or if it was just that easy to read him. Probably both.

But still, he would do as "requested" of him. Just as Akashi could read him, Midorima felt he had developed a rather close grasp of the former. Or at least close enough to balance the scale of what would anger him or not.

And so, the bespectacled marksman proceeded to train for the next hour, leaving _Phaenari_ and taking down one of the map's monsters with expert precision.

He also spent some time thinking back to his days in _Teiko._

In that game, it had been impossible to be the strongest unless you were the highest level. Unlike in _Kiseki World_, all a player's abilities and skills were systemated, meaning things like aim were obsolete. Here though, it made a difference.

Though there was still an auto-guide function for ranged assault, a player's damage also depended on their precision and where they aimed their arrows (or bullets, magic, etc). There was also a gravity bonus, though that one is only for physical weapons, as well as any weak-points an opponent might have.

Midorima had remembered once criticizing _Teiko _in front of Akashi about these factors. He wondered if his words were taken seriously and materialized here. Perhaps the latter already had these thoughts in mind. Thanks to it though, the emerald-eyed man–in future–would irrefutably become one of the most powerful Archers in the game.

That's a story for later, though.

* * *

With his eyes trained on the enemy in front, nimble fingers relinquished their hold on the arrow they held.

Midorima's opponent cried out in pain when the projectile found itself embedded in his chest, HP dropping to about a third of the bar. After a few seconds, it dispersed into data and vanished, leaving no trace it had ever been there.

During the match he was currently in, it was the third arrow he'd fired.

He never missed.

The green-haired man's opponent was a level 19 Hunter who, in lieu of a ranged weapon, chose to use some kind of machete. Midorima thought it was rather boorish and pointless, after all, why would one choose that big barbaric, oversized knife above an elegant bow? Regardless of his thoughts though, the world continues to spin.

Currently, the Archer was in the middle of his fifth match. All of his duels prior had been rather easy to win; at least in his opinion.

While Midorima's opponent recovered and tried to charge at him, two more arrows show from his bow, effectively finding their marks on the Hunter's body. With one last cry of pain, the man disappeared.

_"Round 5 Match 24, Winner: Midorima, Time: 00:39"_

_{Duel won! +23 Duel Points}  
_

As it has been previously neglected, not to mention 100% omitted, the _Duel Point_ system will now be explained.

Duel points were a feature of the game that most players use to determine each other's strength. All players start with 100 of them. When one player kills another, whether in a PvP or an unofficial match outside of a town, they are given a fraction of the fallen player's points. The number a person receives is dependent on the level of their opponent and the amount of points they had, though it was currently impossible to get more than fifty from a single player.

Currently, Midorima was in possession of 209 of these points. Since the amount of weak players was starting to thin out, he surmised he'd be able to reach 300 by the end of the ninth round.

So why had Akashi requisitioned him to earn these points? Because they were part of a larger and more complex system.

Besides Duel Points, there were what was called "Duel Credits", "Mira", and "Guild Tokens".

_Mira_ are awarded to a player on a daily basis, simply for things such as logging in, leveling up, and doing quests. They could neither be given to other people nor traded, but they could be traded into the system for ladomi or the special items the game overseers put on display each week, as well as be converted to _Duel Credits_.

A player could not challenge another player unless they had Duel Credits; if a person ran out, they had to transmute their Mira into it. It was a way to make sure people didn't just spend all day fighting eachother.

Duel Points won from a fight could further be traded in for what's called _Guild Points_, or GP for short. In a guild, the accumulated GP was another form of in-game currency that could determine factors such the member limit, EXP bonuses, and any type of purchasable property or land. A Guild could also set what was known as a "Duel Point standard". Something other players would have to meet before they could even be considered unless they were invited to join by a high-ranking official in the group.

Midorima guessed that any guild Akashi created would probably have some kind of set criterion for screening members.

As his time for resting ended, Midorima was transported into a new terrain; something akin to a desert savanna. Tall, dry grass sprouted from the ground around him.

_"The match will begin in three seconds."_

The faux sun glinted off his spectacled face, too bright for his taste.

_2…_

His forest-green eyes scanned the area, though even at his height (A respectable 6'3) he couldn't see above the needlessly tall plants.

_1…_

So far, he sensed no traces of his opponent. This place had to be the least ideal for a player such as him. Never mind the fact that other players could sneak up on him, but both his chances of hitting his opponent with his arrows and the damage they'd were greatly reduced.

_0!  
_

_Start!_

Currently, his best chances would be to stay where he was and let his opponent find him. If it came down to a surprised close-range combat ambush, he had a sabre in his inventory he could use. It was one of the few contact weapons he deemed regal enough to fit his standards.

Thirty seconds into the match and Midorima had still not heard a single sound signaling any foe searching for him. _Are they doing the same thing I am? Or are they just searching the wrong place? Perhaps they've found me already and are waiting for me to let my guard down._

He kept his hands on his bow, an arrow pulled back tightly, ready to fire. Even though Midorima was strong, he was still  
level-headed enough to be cautious.

The seconds ticked by.

Then, in the corner of his eye, a flickering shadow appeared. Deep green orbs, along with his arrow, pointed up towards the sky.

Far away, a large bird glided through the air. _A Vanguard–_ an avian familiar that belonged to some of the Hunter and Rogue sub-classes.

If it was flying above him, it meant the other player was most likely nearby and would be looking for an opening.

His thoughts were proven correct when a small dagger shot out from behind him. If he hadn't been paying so much attention, it would've hit its target squarely. Still, the weapon nicked him in his shoulder, causing a thin line of blood to form.

_[-57 HP, Midorima: {5743/5800}]_

He whipped his body around, but came face to face with the aggravatingly tall grass once more.

From his left side, another of the small throwing knives shot out, though this time he expected it and stepped back out of harm's way.

Out from the dry, yellowed plants stepped a comparably shorter dark-haired man with Rogue equipment.

"I should've expected you would dodge that. Now I'm just wasting my knives", the man in front of him said with a smirk adorning his features.

The two studied each other for a moment before the Rogue whipped out a short hunting dagger and set off.

He was quick, even for a Rogue. The green-haired man wondered whether or not he had upgraded to one of the level 2 sub-classes. Probably, but he couldn't tell which.

In a fraction of a second, the smaller man had appeared behind him, dagger poised to kill. Midorima barely had time to equip his sword and parry while the other man continued his high-speed onslaught. Very rarely, an attack would connect loosely and the Archer would lose a bit of HP, though not enough to make much of a difference. Most of it was blocked by his expertly-handled sabre.

The taller man stabbed at the other and jumped back while switching his weapon back into a bow.

Quick as a blink, he drew back the string and let one of the arrows fly into the black-haired man's thigh as he dodged Midorima's first attack. A second arrow shot into his sternum as he was regaining his balance, taking out a considerable amount of his HP. The darker-haired man let out no indignant roar of pain though, just a small groan and the smirk from earlier–which became a sharp-toothed grin. His bright orange eyes gleamed excitedly.

And suddenly, he vanished.

Well, not quite. He just moved quickly. Apparently what had been seen before was not his top speed.

In the fraction of a second, a new wave of slashing was released upon him, and from more directions than one. Midorima realized this person must use the element of _wind_. The small blade attacking him seemed to cut deeper as well, something the green-haired man guessed was a short-duration buff.

The Archer's HP had gone down to about two-thirds, and he'd only hit the other with a two arrows so far.

"What's wrong?", the other jeered as he slashed, "too fast for you?"

_Perhaps it's time to get serious._

He focused on the figure moving around him; His eyes were observant enough to be able to follow the Rogue player's movements without much difficulty. After being hit so many times, Midorima could now find a pattern in his movements and attacks.

He sidestepped a jab, and while doing so pulled back another arrow. The Rogue-type player saw this, and got ready to dodge the projectile; he leapt backwards so as not to be caught at point-blank range.

Instead of letting it fly towards his enemy though, the Archer pointed it up into the sky and released the tautly-drawn string.

The shorter man watched for a second as it disappear into the sunlight, confused, but was forced to pay attention to the fight when Midorima switched his weapon and began to carve away at his HP. Said green-haired man not only blocked well, but could perform an impressive barrage.

All of a sudden, in the middle of a slicing motion, the Archer switched back to his bow and shot an arrow at the ground.

Right at the ground.

And again, the Rogue was confused until thick vines sprouted from the ground and grabbed him, pulling him into a sprawl on the dry, cracked dirt. Admittedly, he wasn't very strong, and so couldn't break through with only strength. He wanted to cut the protruding tendrils, but his dagger had been knocked away and the only other items he had were knives and other small projectiles. He did have some explosives, but they might potentially kill him in a situation like this.

Speaking of potentially killing, he was now wondering why the bowman didn't just make a move to finish him off.

Said man stared down at him for just a moment before speaking in an almost arrogant tone:

"I never miss."

The last thing he saw before the arrow came down, piercing his chest where his heart would be if this were real life, was Midorima's emerald-colored eyes. He thought perhaps they were silently studying his own sunset orbs as he dissolved into the air like sea-foam.

_"Round 6 Match 14, Winner: Midorima, Time: 03:17"_

_{Duel won! +29 Duel Points}_

The Archer let out a miniscule scoff at the time. His hand gestured the motion to open the virtual clock. _Hmmm… an hour before my next class._

Until that time, he fought in the tournament, leaving when he knew it'd be impossible to be punctual if he didn't.

Right before logging out though, a window popped up in front of him.

Akashi

_has sent you a guild membership invitation. Would you like to join "Generation of Miracles"?_

"Yes"*

"_No"_

**.**

_**"Yes"***_

"_No"_

**.**

_{You have joined the guild, "Generation of Miracles."}_

* * *

Back in the real world, a certain raven-haired man removed his VR gear.

Takao sighed for the umpteenth time since losing that match. Even though he went nearly top speed at the end, one of the few things he could do well when not in a group battle, he was caught pretty easily. He was also killed pretty easily, or at least it seemed so as the other barely worked up a sweat during their duel.

_Seriously. How do people even get that strong. He was a beginner too!_

He placed the headset on his desk, stretched out, and proceeded to the living room; there he found his two flat-mates, sitting on the couch watching some show about some medieval country somewhere.

The dark-haired man flopped down next to Kuroko and whined, "Teeettt-chaaan, I just lost a match for the first time… you should comfort me. We should all go out for some Kimchi or sooommeeething."

The smaller man stared at him blankly, and two pairs of blue eyes met.

"Takao-kun, you can't win every time. Also, I can't hear the documentary."

The raven puffed out his cheeks.

"So mean."

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Guilds_

_Guilds can be made when a person is at least level 20. They have to have a 50k fee for the initial creation. Also, a guild has to have at least five members when it is first made, but afterwards it doesn't matter who or how many leave as long as the guild is not disbanded. Guilds, like parties, also get experience bonuses, which stack with the former._

There are several positions that can optionally be assigned in a guild, though these will probably be described later. All guilds have a total max limit of 200 people. The max number a guild can have when it's first created is 20. Guilds, after a certain point in time, can purchase and manage an island which itself has multiple uses and functions.

* * *

Sorry if it feels like I'm skipping around a lot, but this is needed so that I can tie the plot together. And also to explain game functions. Is it getting too complicated? If anyone is confused, you could PM me and I can explain anything you don't understand.

_And without further ado: OTP time  
_  
God I kinda wanna shrivel up in a hole right now.

MY OTP IS KIKURO. I'M SORRY AKAKURO SHIPPERS. I MADE THIS STORY IN MIND WITH FLUFFY KIKURO, AND I DON'T WANT TO CHANGE IT FOR THE GENERAL OPINION. EVEN THOUGH FOR SOME REASON AKAKURO HAS SOMEHOW EXPLODED AND PRETTY MUCH BECOME THE MOST POPULAR PAIRING HERE IN THE LAST MONTH.

And now I shall watch as I lose much support and many follows and then jump into that hole.

Anyways, my other ships in this story will include: MidoTaka, AoKaga, and MuraHimu. And quite possibly AkaFuri because _OH GOD WHAT HAS FANDOM DONE TO ME._

It's cause I read _Signal_, isn't it?

Anyways, again sorry. And sorry for long author's notes all the time. Summary will be updated with pairings later. Bye for now.

Feedback is always welcome~


	9. Chapter 8: Light & Dark

I'm going to get off my awkward, lazy bum and start answering questions. Though awkwardly. So from now on, I'm going to try to keep track of any questions asked and reply accordingly whenever I have the time (as long as it doesn't spoil the plot). But also, I'm just really stupid and am bad with proper etiquette.

Somehow, I'm wondering if I made Midorima too OP the last chapter.

Also, I really do appreciate all the readers telling me they'll keep on persevering for the plot. Thank you. I love you all and give you internet glomps.

Disclaimer: KnB is not mine~

So without further ado, welcome to another chapter of _KWO~_

* * *

Chapter 8: Light & Dark

* * *

_System notice: Kiseki World Online will begin its first patch in __four__ hours. Please be sure to finish all game-play necessities before then. The patch will be completed in approximately 16 hours._

* * *

In the latest event in his life, Kuroko Tetsuya had just become a Cleric.

This pretty much denoted that he should learn the element of _Light,_ otherwise there wasn't much point in this in the first place. Being a Cleric and having that element gave a lot of magic bonuses, not to mention at least half the spells a Healer-type player could learn required it.

{Kuroko has learned the Element of _Light__!}_

And with that, the skills in the archive could now be upgraded to these types of spells, besides Magic Ball because as it was Kuroko's first attack spell, it upgraded automatically. Spells like these were much stronger against some enemies and usually did around the same damage as their basic forms to others. Exactly why the game allowed the original spells.

The Light Elf set to choosing what he thought would be useful, though Healer-type classes in pretty much any game tended not to have many offensive spells. And so, he maxed out what he could of them and put the rest of his points in buffs, heals, and other miscellaneous spells that he guessed would come in handy in the future; even with this, he still had a pretty good amount of skill points leftover. There were some skills that could only be unlocked at certain levels though, so he guessed he could get those then.

Along with the new spells available, he also received new equipment, which consisted of the following: a silver circlet that rested flat against his head with a dark blue jewel resting on the bridge of his nose; a long, plain frock-like garment, a blue similar to his hair color (there had been a color option for that one); and a flowing ivory colored overcoat lined with silver on the edges. The simple gracefulness of the outfit was accentuated by a silver ring and cross-shaped necklace provided, though it clashed with the darkly colored wood of his weapon.

Because he was level 15, he would not be able to choose another element to learn until level 20–though like with his class, he wasn't sure what to pick; he wasn't even sure if he should learn another.

The upside to having more elements was that they had advantages towards a wider range of enemies. Having less, however, made one extremely strong against certain types. Generally, most mages would have at least two or three elements at their disposal. Any more seemed to take up too many skill points, especially if they were a more specialized class.

A level 3 arch-type class only got two skill points when they leveled, which of course only gets scarcer with time.

Kuroko made his way towards _Arsajia's_ main gate, the entrance he came into the town by.

A few minutes into his walk back to the first city on the island, _Medias,_ he received the beginning of a three-way chat message from Momoi.

_"Are you two done yet? I finished a while ago and am waiting in central city."_

The speed of a Rogue was to be expected._  
_  
Kuroko typed back, "My apologies. I've just finished my class change. I will try to hurry there." Not wanting to keep her waiting too long, he started into a light jog. A minute later, he received a different message. This time from Aomine.

_"Sorry. Joined a tournament. Won't be done for a while."_

_Momoi-san will probably get angry._

"_What do you mean you joined a tournament?! Dai-chan! Don't just go off doing your own thing!"_

A reply didn't come, so Kuroko assumed the other was either busy or just didn't want to spend the time to deal with Momoi. He sped up his march a bit more.

He finally reached _Medias_ around five minutes later, the entire trek taking up only about a third of the time than it did on the way there.

It was on the side of a large water fountain that he saw her, apparently still angry because she was grumbling and slightly puffing out her cheeks.

The bluenette walked towards her, though she didn't notice him approaching.

The first time he called out, she still sat, fuming. The second time, he tapped her shoulder while repeating her name.

"Momoi-san."

Said girl jumped in her seat, let out a sharp squeal, and nearly fell backwards into the shallow water, though Kuroko caught her before she did.

The peach-haired girl took a deep breath of air, sat upright, and composed herself to the best of her abilities before inquiring, "when did you get here?"

"I just arrived. I called you once, but you did not seem to hear. I'm sorry for startling you."

She gave a slightly nervous laugh. "That's alright. Um… thank you for catching me." Though she did think the blue-haired man in front of her was very polite and all, his habit of seemingly appearing from thin air still bewildered her. A while ago she was still having second thoughts on whether or not he was some kind of phantom.

Nevertheless, she agreed when he asked her to train with him. Because Aomine was still in his tournament and not responding to her messages (she'd sent several more, not in the group chat), she had been contemplating quitting play for the day. Though she was good at combat by this game's standards, there was still the chance that she'd be caught by one of the many boss monsters that spawned on the map–difficult to beat without a party or at least back-up.

The two decided on fighting against level 16 monsters called _Amphriz _that were found branching out from the route to the Hunter Town. These creatures seemed to be based off lizards, though of course they were bigger. Even though they were higher level than the two, they weren't too hard to take out.

_Amphriz _did low damage but had high agility, making them tricky opponents to fight. Momoi was just a bit faster than they were. The problem is that these lizard-like creatures are what are known as "group-aggro monsters".

Monsters falling under this category are passive types until one of them is provoked. After that, all of them within a certain range will automatically target the player that attacked them.

After buffing and such, the Rogue of the group calculated she'd be able to kill the monsters in just one or two hits each, though even with boosted speed it'd still be difficult to take on that many on her own.

So, of course, this is where Kuroko comes in. While she tanked and fought close combat, he'd be nearby ready to release an AOE spell on the creatures whenever they became too much for the pinkette to handle with ease. The time it took for Kuroko to cast one of his AOEs and the time it took for the _Amphriz _ to swarm Momoi were quite similar, though the Light Elf still healed and re-buffed whenever he had the chance to.

By this way, the duo gained experience pretty quickly and evenly. At the end of their session an hour later, they had both leveled up four times each. Sadly, Momoi had something to attend to in real life (as well as an Aomine to scold) and left the game.

The Cleric decided to leave the map because he couldn't tank. It was very difficult–though not impossible–to cast spells while being attacked, though one needed a higher level of concentration for that.

The blue-haired man left the map and settled for another where he could get some more training done by himself.

He traveled back to the Mage area and settled for one of the monster maps there.

* * *

Skipping ahead about another hour later, the bluenette had just gotten to level 22. His weapon, which he was informed to be called a "Living Weapon" (courtesy of Momoi and her informational forums) was now level 19. Apparently, 613 special weapon items were made and were still being distributed throughout the Japanese server. Out of these, around 100 of them were Living Weapons. Kuroko had really been very lucky during his weapon selection, if this was anything to come by.

Speaking of which, the _Phantom's Staff of Arcane Shadows_ was now looking a lot more like its namesake. The wood had darkened further, now taking on a color similar to that of burnt charcoal. On its end, it had now curved further and formed an almost circular shape–though it didn't connect back to the staff's shaft. Three thorns appeared on the semi-circle that pointed towards its middle. The other end of the staff ended in a spear-like point.

The weapon's owner, however, was just concentrating on killing monsters.

Kuroko was now in the middle of a battle with a… gigantic… butterfly. The map he was in consisted of many smaller monsters similar to the one he was fighting, but it seemed this one was a mini-boss. The overgrown insect was dubbed a "_Papirrio"_

Its long tongue seemed to be its main weapon; with the appendage it tried multiple times to lash out and skew the Cleric straight through. The other things it could do included sending large gusts of wind with its wings and gathering all the lesser butterfly monsters, _Papiko,_ in the area to its side. If this wasn't enough, it also had an insanely and annoying high amount of HP for something of this level.

The monster didn't do much damage, but all the distracting smaller monsters attacking and the gales of wind sent his way made it so he couldn't cast any of his stronger spells. This meant he had to fight with only his weaker AOEs and instant casts.

Overall Kuroko just found the process of fighting it very tedious. The only good thing about the situation, he supposed, was that he was at least getting some experience from the smaller creatures.

The Cleric dodged another of the large beast's tongue attack and sent a Magic Ball towards it. Earlier on in his battle, he'd found the tongue to be a weak spot. To his chagrin, it was difficult to hit because the _Papirrio _would reel it back just as quickly as it flicked out. When the bluenette did manage to hit it though, like what he did now, it brought the monster's HP down substantially faster.

_[-2,638 HP, Papirrio: {5,423/120,000}]_

It was at a time like this that Kuroko wished he had more offensive attacks. The stupid insect had already taken up a good twenty minutes and he was really starting to get tired of this, both figuratively and physically. He was also starting to run out of MP potions, which was not good at all considering he was alone. No way in hell would be abandon this fight when he'd already put so much time and effort into it though.

The monster let out a small screech, signaling it was about to summon more _Papiko _to its aid. At this, Kuroko got ready to launch an AOE attack, one strong enough to kill the weaker monsters in one hit. He chanted out the words to the spell, releasing them towards the Butterfly creatures when they clustered.

After they were hit he was about to attack the larger beast with another Magic Ball when an unexpected window appeared.

_{Phantom's Staff of Arcane Shadows has leveled up!: level 20}_

Strange. It never announced leveling up befo–

_{Kuroko has learned the Element of Darkness!}_

_"…"_

_…What?_

_"..."_

But of course, the bluenette had no time to be confused because the insect creature once again stuck out its long tongue and stabbed at him. This time, it even caused some damage (most previous attempts had been avoided because of the attack's low range).

_[-254 HP, Kuroko: {923/1860}]_

The next few moments were spent trying not to be blown away while Kuroko healed himself. Unsurprisingly, physical weight seemed to be a factor in this, to his dismay. He stumbled backwards a bit, but regained his footing by impaling the grass-covered plain with his staff and using it as a pivot.

That was when he got a good look at it.

Though relatively unchanged from the last he'd seen it (besides getting even darker), one new feature sorely stuck out.

In the middle of the semi-circle at the top of his staff was a small glowing jewel, suspended in the air between the three sharp points. It was a striking deep blue in color, rather like Kuroko's eyes in real life, and shaped like a diamond. Aside from this though, it seemed to emanate a dark, powerful aura; It was almost as if the weapon itself wanted to shroud this world in pitch black shades and chaos.

_Hmmm…_

Kuroko lifted his hand and opened his palm towards his enemy, which again was calling little minions to its side. This time, instead of visualizing energy or light forming, the Cleric imagined a ball of pure darkness.

He was rather amazed with his results.

Floating in front of his hand was a black sphere, much larger than any other Magic Ball he'd cast. It was like a black hole, seemingly sucking in even the air around it as it rotated, ready to be released.

And so, Kuroko let the sphere fly off towards the _Papirrio. _Even the speed had increased, the spell had shot from his hand like a rocket. His widened sky-colored eyes had trouble following the attack because of how explosively it had shot out.

Even more surprisingly, the monster _died__._ All 5k of its remaining HP had been drained with that single last attack–not even on its weak-spot.

After being hit, the _Papirrio_ burst into pixels as if it were a fireworks display.

_{+8,000 Experience}  
{Kuroko has obtained: Papirrio Wing, Papirrio Whip, 11,481 ladomi}*_

_Well… I could get used to this._

* * *

The next hour was spent putting points in dark spells and testing them out. Just like with the Dark Ball from earlier, his other spells were also much more effective than they were in their basic state. Even skills he had barely trained with before did at least double damage when imbued with darkness.

He was really having so much fun with this that he nearly forgot about the automatic log-out function. The time had really gotten away from him during the last seven hours.

Even though he was enjoying this newfound power so much, he decided it was probably time to take a break. The game patch announced earlier was going to start soon anyways. He also had a night shift at a convenience store to attend to later, and decided doing his chores and a nap would be a smarter move. Playing a game this long did do a number on one's mental state, after all.

Reluctantly, his fingers traced the air, opening the log-out screen.

**.**

_"Are you sure you would like to quit game play?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

_**.**_

_**"**__**Yes**__**"***__**  
**__  
"No"_

_**.**_

Once more, Kuroko opened his eyes to his ivory-colored ceiling.

He placed his gear on his desk, careful not to knock over any of his cluttered possessions.

Since he now had the time, he decided he'd use it to go grocery shopping as both his flat-mates and he had been putting it off for the last few days. They were seriously living off instant curry because they were all too lazy, busy, or incapable of buying ingredients and cooking them.

After a quickly asking the apartment's two other occupants for requests, he grabbed his bag and tied his shoes in the doorway."I'll be going now", he spoke out into the hall. Two calls of "have a safe trip!" responded let out a small smile and went about his business, thoughts in his head about magic, eggs, and kimchi.

* * *

I just realized. Eight chapters in(nine with the chapter 0) and Kuroko has only been playing the game for two days. Well, I guess different POVs took up two or three, but still, this is taking longer than even I expected. I'm pretty sure it'll speed up soon though, if my brain maps are any indication.

Anyways, thank you for reading~

I'm gonna go to sleep now cuz it's 2:00 AM.

Constructive criticism and/or feedback are always welcome~


	10. Chapter 9: Forum & Daycare

Hello again~ Welcome back to _KWO~_

It is time for a chapter... that is not actually about _KWO_!

I'm sorry if it feels like I'm deviating from the main plot, but people in reality have things to do besides game, so I felt this could express that.

Don't worry, it'll return back in the next chapter for those of you who don't like my transitions.

Also, to the person who reviewed as "Cake", rest assured I did not delete any of your reviews (I even know that was possible because i'm rather new to writing). If they're missing, it might just be some kind of problem with the site itself or bad connection or something.

But thank you to everyone who reads this fic~

Disclaimer: I definitely don't own a basketball manga with very shippable characters and a gigantic fujoshi-filled fandom.

* * *

Chapter 9: Forum & Daycare

* * *

_April 25, 2038_

The rest of Kuroko's day had been rather uneventful. He had cooked (slightly burnt food), tidied up his rather messy room, and then went to work at one of his part-time jobs at a nearby convenience store.

That night, he'd gotten home around midnight and slept soundly for the next six hours, trying to ignore the sound of Takao playing videogames through the wall.

The next morning, a Wednesday morning, was one of the two weekdays where Kuroko didn't have any classes. Unlike the other days, the bluenette had given himself the pleasure of an extra hour of sleep.

He had woken up to the sound of his alarm at 6:00 o'clock sharp, stayed lying in bed for the next ten minutes in a state between dreaming and conscious, and then made a beeline for the bathroom as per usual. Like always, a few minutes were spent in the activity of taming unruly blue cowlicks and out-of-place locks. Afterwards, he went on his morning jog, ate breakfast (yesterday's leftovers), and returned to his room.

That was when he remembered _Kiseki World_ was having a patch.

He had forgotten about it in sleep that it would probably finish later that morning–around ten or eleven if he recalled. The VR device sat on his slightly-less-cluttered desk. A few areas of it were glowing a crimson red, the color for patches according to the manual. When the updates were done, it would return to its usual traffic-light green and therefore the game would be playable once more.

But for now, it was not.

Kuroko had wanted to get in about an hour of gaming before going out though of course that was impossible.

On Wednesdays (such as this one), he chose to help out at a kindergarten and daycare center in a neighborhood a few blocks down.

Half a year ago, when he was walking by on his way to a bookstore, he had come across the small cluster of pastel buildings and squealing five year-olds. The owners of the kindergarten, a married couple in their thirties or so, had been looking for a part-timer or two to fill in for them; the wife had been going into the later stages of pregnancy. Kuroko seeing them in their distress had offered his assistance, even going so far as to change his schedule to be free to help out more.

Surprisingly to himself, he very much enjoyed his time there. He didn't think he'd be good with children, especially because of his natural invisibility and unexpressive demeanor. It turned out to be taken in stride by the kids there. They pretty much made games out of it, like seeing who could find him first in the day or who could make him smile. At first they just wanted to see him change expressions but they'd learned quickly they didn't want him angry–or sad for that matter. In the time he was there, they'd somehow gotten rather attached to him.

Takao had joked it was because he was short and easy for them to climb.

Of course, he didn't get away without a bruised gut.

After the wife gave birth though, her family offered to look after her baby whenever she had work, so Kuroko didn't need to go as often anymore. That was one of the reasons he'd started playing _Kiseki World._ Too much free time and no particular hobby to spend it on.

Anyways, Kuroko considered going to the kindergarten, but often no one arrived until at least 7:30 and he wasn't actually due in until nine.

He would have read a book, but unfortunately he had none. Earlier that week he'd finished all his pocket novels and hadn't made any trips to the library since. Most people would've gotten some kind of electronic reader at this time in the future but Kuroko was the type that appreciated the feel of a nice paperback. The library he visited was empty most of the time–it only seemed to ever be populated by him, a few other old-fashioned simpletons, and the librarian.

And so, he did what any normal twenty-year old college student bored out of their mind would do:

He surfed the internet.

Now, it's not that he particularly disliked computers–on the contrary he found them quite useful for things like research and communication. It's just that, as a child, he hadn't grown up needing it, and so wasn't as dependent on it as many others during this time were. Though of course, the boom of VR simulations had now taken hold of the internet populace–people had naturally moved on to a more advanced form of entertaining themselves.

Although the blue-haired man wasn't very enthusiastic about computers, his best friend seemed to enjoy just about any type of technology, new or old.

Against Kuroko's wishes on his last birthday, the raven-haired man had gifted him a pristine and shining new laptop. The bluenette had tried to get him to return the device but Takao had slyly told him it was an older model that was on clearance anyways, so he couldn't get it refunded. By chance, Kuroko had recently figured out it was actually one of the more advanced computer systems Japan had to offer but couldn't get it returned because warrant had gone past date.

The raven had received a week's worth of silent treatment for that one.

_I wonder if I'm too mean to Takao-kun._

* * *

Kuroko entered the internet forums for _KWO_. Ever since yesterday when he'd been informed of what his weapon was, he'd been more than curious to find out what it could do, even if he hadn't thought of using the internet until now. He had asked Momoi, but she hadn't touched upon their information beyond names and ratios.

He typed the words "Living Weapon" into the search bar at the top of the screen. Immediately, hundreds of forums appeared in front of his eyes. He a particularly popular thread and started to scroll through them, looking for any valuable information.

_UltimateXBlade:_  
_"The creators at last week's gamer convention panel in Fukuoka said there were 613 special weapons made in the Japanese version of KWO. Out of these, 100 of them are what are called "Living Weapons". So far, there have been 48 reports of Living Weapons by players. It's still uncertain whether these weapons have a set criterion or if it is just completely luck to get one. If luck, then the chance is less than 1 in 60,000 chance to get one. Most of the people interviewed about these said they got it when they randomized items during a class change or did item quests that would usually get them a different, weaker weapon."_

_ThatOneDude in reply to {UltimateXBlade}:_  
_"Whats a living weapon anyways? I keep hearing about them."_

_Tsuntsundere in reply to {ThatOneDude}:_  
_"Isn't there a forum for this already?"_

_Jinnai in reply to {ThatOneDude}:_  
_"A living weapon is a weapon that evolves the more you use it. They're more rare and powerful than Special Ability Items. Most Living Weapons are just those but more OP. All these types of weapons usually allow the user to have unique skills that normal players can't access."  
_

_ThatOneDude in reply to {Jinnai}:_  
_"Oh cool thanks dude."  
****__._

.

_CarnivalCarnage:_  
_"Lol some idot tried to trade his LW and teh stats got reset and it stop=ed lvling completely. Who the hell would gibe upsuch a rare itm?"_

_Lunastarr in reply to {CarnivalCarnage}:_  
_"That sucks. One more awesome item taken out of the game completely. I heard these items don't respawn, so even if they're given back to the original owner, they're stay as normal weapons. Someone else tried this with another special weapon too, not a LW but still, the stats got reset and all. Also, don't you have spell check or something? The game age limit is 15 without special authorization, but it feels like you're some kind of 11 year-old. "_

_CarnivalCarnage in reply to {Lunastarr}:_  
_"Im 16 so F*** off B**** i can typ however i want."_

This was one of the reasons Kuroko didn't use the internet much. He skipped the rest of their back-and-forth to try to find any other information he could.  
**.**  
**.**  
**.**

_Banananananananana:_  
_"There are 50 known Living Weapons now. Someone got pictures and descriptions of most of them in another forum here. I put the page in the link box."_

_Miyamoto in reply to {Banananananananana}:_  
_"Goddamnit all these are so OP. Except for that one that lets the user convert ladomi to HP. Other than that, this game is so_ unfair."  
_**.**_  
_**.  
.**_

Before he knew it, it was already 8:37–according to the clock. It was time for him to start going to the Kindergarten if he wanted to be punctual, which he did, obviously. He was one to be places on time, though people never really noticed he was there. In high school he'd often been marked absent for this, though he usually got it cleared up by the end of class.

He grabbed his usual bag and walked out, quietly traversing the hall and going out the door. Though it was nearly nine now, both of his flat mates were probably still asleep because neither had classes until the afternoon.

* * *

He arrived at the kindergarten five minutes before nine and went to greet his coworkers. He made sure the owners weren't handling anything breakable being saying his salutations to them.

"Good morning, Yamada-san, Kanagawa-san."

Although they knew when to expect him, it was still hard not to jump when he just suddenly appeared next to them. By now, they were getting better at it though, showing only slight twitches as a reaction.

"Oh, hello Kuroko-kun! How are you today?", asked Yamada, the husband.

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Would you mind rounding up the children in the courtyard?", Kanagawa, the wife, asked. "Try to get them to simmer down a bit. We'll be in the classrooms setting up."

"Hai."

The couple went on their business, and Kuroko donned a dark blue apron and exited the small building into the kindergarten's backyard. Many of the children were on the play-ground, up and running energetically even at this time in the morning.

In total, thirty-four kids attended the kindergarten–either because their parents wanted them to start learning early or because they needed someone to watch them. Because the amount of children was larger they'd expected, the owners split them up into two different groups.

There was the "Sunflower Class" and the "Hydrangea Class". Both were headed by a teacher (the owners) and at least one assistant. Besides Kuroko, there were four other people who came to help out regularly, two of which were friends of the owners. The other two were another college student and a man who, besides this, had work as a handyman. The bluenette thought they were all rather nice people.

"Ew! Get away from us!", a small brunette girl shrieked as she and her friends tried to avoid a boy holding a particularly long, freshly dug-up earthworm.

The boy did his imitation of a villain's laugh, showing off one of his missing front teeth. "Muhahahaha! You can't escape the mighty dirt monster!", he shouted, chasing them with the wriggling creature.

You could imagine his surprise when he was suddenly lifted into the air–he even dropped his worm.

"Masato-kun. You shouldn't playlike that."

"Kuro-sensei!?"

"Your hands will get dirty and you might hurt Mr. Worm", he articulated as he put the child down and picked up said worm. "You should apologize to the girls for scaring them. The worm too. "

"It's just a worm and I ain't gonna say sorry to no girls."

Kuroko placed the worm in a plot of dirt nearby. "How would you like it if someone used you to scare people, or if someone chased you around with something you dislike?"

Masato's thought at the first sentence was "_that'd be pretty cool"._ At the second, images of giant running vegetables came to mind.

"Urgh", he stuck his tongue out as if he were actually gagging. Turning around with crossed arms, he mumbled softly, "Sorry for chasing you."

"Ha! Masa-kun got scolded by Kuro-chan!", one of the girls jeered.

Kuroko turned to her with his blank expression. "Shiharu-chan. That's not very nice. He apologized nicely."

It was now her turn to pout. She puffed up her cheeks and said a quick sorry as well.

Usually, the bluenette would get the children to handshake but he didn't think Shiharu would want to touch the other's slightly slime-covered fingers.

He called out across the yard, "it's time to go in, everybody". Because of the excitement over the worm, he had already gotten the children's attention. Most of the time it took longer than that, at least three or four tries before he could get them to to go into their respective classrooms. He ushered them to the water fountains to wash their hands before entering.

The college student counted around twenty of the children as they filed into their rooms. It was the usual amount in the morning since this kindergarten also functioned as a daycare. The rest of the children would usually come somewhere in the next two hours. The facility closed around five or six when the last of the kids would be picked up by one of their family members.

For the next hour-and-a-half, Kuroko and another assistant helped Yamada with supervising the children as they doodled with their little twelve-packs of crayons. One little girl proudly showed him her drawing of herself riding a giant cat while what looked like fish rained from the sky. There was a smiling sun at the side and M-shaped birds in the background.

He praised her with just the slightest inkling of a smile and pat on the head. "It is very pretty."

The girl looked at him with shining eyes, "really?"

"Yes. It looks just like you."

The girl giggled happily as she ran off to start another drawing. "Kuro-tan said I was pretty!"

Not exactly what he meant, but as long as it made her happy, he supposed it was alright.

After drawing time, both the classes were let out for a thirty-minute recess, which was especially when they needed to be watched. After being indoors for so long, they were wound-up coils of pure energy ready to spring out at the first chance.

Kuroko helped to make sure they didn't do anything dangerous, like last week when one boy was dared to jump off the top of the jungle gym.

Or the week before that when a group of them thought it'd be fun to go out the front gate and explore the neighborhood.

Or that one time a little boy discovered a small bee hive forming. Thankfully he had told one of the head teachers before anyone else. The children were quite naturally curious, after all.

Once a timer bell sounded, he and the other adults did a head count of the children and, assured that they were all there, they went inside for the second time that day.

Today's schedule told them it was time for sing-a-long and music time, followed by lunch time, and then a group game–today it was shiritori. Now that it was nearly thirty minutes past twelve, the children got to have their nap time. After all that they did in the day, most of them were pretty tired by now.

The blue-haired man walked around until he heard small sniffles.

He followed the sound towards a lump hidden under a blanket, and removed it to find a cowering little boy and girl. The two were siblings, he recalled, though he could see the resemblance between the two easily.

They both squealed a little when exposed to the light.

A "shhhh" came their way by some of the other kids.

"Why are you two crying?", Kuroko asked them.

The girl, Asako, had snot dribbling out of her nose as she tried to speak quietly, "Kuwo-sensei, Mi-tan told us a scawy stowy and we can't-_hic-_ go nap nap."

"He… He said a monster would _eat_ us in our sleep!", the boy, Fumihiro, exclaimed.

Another round of hushes was sent their way.

Luckily, the bluenette had something special saved for the situation of crying children.

The two kids looked towards him as he waved a hand in front of them. When he got their attention, he seemingly pulled a handkerchief out of air and placed it flat onto his hand. The siblings then watched, no longer sniffling as much as they were now entranced as the thin cloth was lifted to reveal two small paper cranes.

"Uwaah! That's amazing Kuwo-sensei!"

"It's magic!"

"These cranes will chase away all the dream monsters", the bluenette said as he handed one to each of them. "But just in case, sensei will stay here to protect you, okay?"

He supposed it was okay since a lot of the other children were already asleep and there were two other people supervising.

"Yes please", the two whispered in unison, cradling the paper crafts in their small hands.

Kuroko re-covered them with the blanket and watched as they shifted to comfortable positions. With their fears alleviated, they fell asleep one after the other in a matter of minutes.

Now that they weren't watching, he stuffed the handkerchief back into his sleeve.

* * *

The rest of the day went like it usual did in the child haven. After nap time, the children did their wake-up exercises to some old nursery rhymes, had a lesson on the alphabet (with focus on letters W through Z), and then had snack time. The kids then got to have another recess, followed by another game that they suggested this time–duck, duck, goose.

The morning had now turned into the sunny afternoon. Around 3:00, the kindergarten's written closing time, about half of the kids were being picked up by their guardians. Kuroko helped check their names off the role-call sheet.

Though he was okay to leave now, he would probably stay for another hour or two to keep the children who were picked up later company. The other assistants usually had to leave on Wednesdays, so the managing couple was especially grateful to him at times like this; one of them had to go home early to take their baby off of their family's hands. He watched over the children well, making sure no one got into trouble and was good at entertaining them.

Finally, around five o'clock when the last child was taken home, he bid Yamada farewell (Kanagawa had gone home earlier) and walked back to the apartment.

He slipped off his sloppily shoes in the doorway and made his way to his room. Throwing his bag to the side, his hands then picked up the VR gear and did all the necessary procedure.

After the eye scan, he had closed his eyes. When he reopened them, all he saw were images swirling around him, bit-by-bit filling into their correct place in this world.

Once more, he was back in the game.

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Pain Gauge_

_Probably should've reiterated this better. I wrote the pain rate is 20%, but that's for blows on the skin. Anything that happens to impale a person or something similar will have a lesser ratio of pain. Also, players in the game don't have organs or anything that can be hit. Further more, if a person is hit above the shoulders, the item hitting them won't stay embedded for a few seconds like it does on any other part, it simply disappears as it goes through. Those areas do 25% less damage so people tend to only use them for scare tactics. Or if they're trying to blind of deafen them because that's valid too._

* * *

I've always wanted to write Kuroko in a kindergarten. In case anyone is wondering though, now that this has been showcased, another chapter like this about Kuroko working here probably won't come up unless I write an extra about it. Also rather unlikely.

This is ironically the longest chapter I've written so far.

Tee hee.

Thank you for reading~

Questions, statements, and advice are all appreciated~


	11. Chapter 10: Message & Update

Hello~ GPS here again with another chapter of _KWO_. This time it's actually about more about _KWO._ I swear.

I am fail with the image manager here. My picture quality always gets ruined because I don't have a scanner, then the formatting gets kinda funky when I upload here. Anyways, the current cover picture is supposed to be Kuroko as described in chapter 8.

And also, goodbye my beautiful Spring Break. I'll still try to get these chapters in on my usual basis (anywhere from two days to a week), but if I don't then you can assume it's because I am busy.

Disclaimer: I only own my headcanons and not an awesome basketball manga.

* * *

Chapter 10: Message & Update

* * *

The first thing Kuroko noticed were two bright, blinking dots on the side of his person, one red and one blue.

He guessed the red circle lead to the patch updates since he already knew what the other was. His fingers traced the blue dot, opening up the message window.

_You have received 1 new message:_

Aomine: 04/25/38 11:16*  
Close message index.*

_**.**_

_**Aomine: 04/25/38 11:16***__  
Close message index.*_

_**.  
**__  
_In front of him appeared a holographic projection message. Though people could just use standard typing, Kuroko supposed Aomine wasn't the writing type.

_"Yo, Tetsu",_ the tan-skinned man started, _"You're not online right now, so I'm sending this message. I just joined this guild made by this super strong dude. He's seriously super OP. Like, he blew up a tree. Anyways, though it was a little bit creepy, the guy found me when I was monster grinding and invited me into it. Apparently he was watching me when I was fighting in that tournament and thought I was good at fighting and stuff, which of course I am but that doesn't matter right now."_

He paused for a second. _"Oh yeah, and I won the tournament. Though right in the last round I was up against this really big dude but he forfeited. Then I find out he's in the same guild as the one I just joined! I guess the guild leader was recruiting all the strong guys". _Aomine's furled his brow and put on as serious of a face he could make, apparently his impression of the guild leader._ "He said something like, 'You will be an imperative member in forming a formidable union". _His eyes unsharpened from the stern face he had attempted._ "I have no idea what imperative means but I know he wants to have a really strong guild."_

_"Anyways, I'm hoping you could join this guild with me. I told Akashi–err, the guild leader–that I wanted Satsuki and you to join. He already let Satsuki join since he needed an analyst or treasurer or something and cuz she's strong, even though she's just an ogre woman."_

A rock was thrown towards Aomine's way, though it sailed past his when he ducked. From the background, Kuroko heard Momoi's voice chiding the darker-haired bluenette as he reluctantly took his words back.

_"Anyways, Akashi said anyone could join as long as they fit hit standards. We'll all be in the central town in the PVP arena until around five looking for new members, so if you could make it before then that'd be cool. I think we could use another Mage. Right now, the guild only has five members. There's the leader, the big dude, me, Satsuki, and some Archer dude but I haven't seen him yet. Satsuki doesn't want to fight unless she has to though so we need at least two more people. I asked him to wait for you but I dunno how that's gonna go. Reply as soon as you get online."_

Aomine gave a small smirk and a final sentence before ending the message with a final, short sentence:

_"I hope to see you there, Tetsu."  
**.**_

The message projection screen disappeared, bringing Kuroko back to his message index.

_You have no new or unread messages.  
__**.  
**_Kuroko closed the message archive and wondered if he was too late already as it was around twenty minutes past the stated time. He was still in the butterfly monster training ground, meaning he'd be even later to the arena._**  
**__  
Should I still go? I really do want to join a guild though, and I probably won't get many chances. Do I qualify as strong? My weapon is powerful, but I don't know if I could compare to the guild's standards since Aomine-kun won a tournament. He said he would wait though._

Deciding to believe the other man's words, Kuroko started off towards the city in full sprint. If he hurried, he might be able to catch them before they left (if they were still there, of course).

Even though he had speed buffed himself, he was still rather slow in getting to the central town. Having a powerful weapon still didn't make him any faster at running.

_Somehow I have the feeling I'm forgetting something…_

It was ten minutes later when the Light Elf finally reached his destination, sweating profusely and trying to catch his breath as he walked along the side of the building to support himself. Somehow, it seems he was more tired than usual after running. He cursed the fact that warp spells were only for higher level players.

_...I feel like it's something obvious…_

His feet stumbled a bit on the rocky ground as he entered the arena, giving him reason to believe he should take a second to adjust himself before moving clear blue eyes searched the arena for dark blue hair while trying to remember what his brain seemed so hard trying to bring to light.

_…Wait a minute…_

Then suddenly, at the same time he found the spiky, blue head he was looking for, his epiphany came.

_I'm a moron._

He mentally berated himself at a simple fact he should've realized as soon as he had finished with Aomine's message. Sure, he was in a rush and might've been thinking too much that he might not have made it in time, but it wasn't much of an excuse.

_I could have just sent a message back…_

Kuroko let out a small, silent sigh while approaching his Warrior friend, who seemed to be talking with someone that he couldn't see through the crowd.

_…Is he eating a burger…?_

He brought his hand up to tap Aomine's shoulder as his arrival was still unknown by the taller male. Just as his fingers were about to make contact though, Kuroko somehow had the feeling that he–he of all people–was being _watched._

The bluenette turned his head to the side, only to come face-to-face with a crimson-haired man with sharp eyes that bore into his. What stuck our sorely were not just his handsome features, but the fact that the irises staring back at the Cleric were mismatched in color; the left was a canary yellow and the right matched his locks as a carmine red.

"Huh? Akashi, what're you doing?"

Akashi? The guild leader?

"Is this the person you spoke of, Daiki?"

The Warrior looked to his side before saying, "what do you me–GAAH! Tetsu! When did yo–"

He was cut off by Akashi speaking once more. "Interesting. Pardon me for saying so, but you're rather… inconspicuous. It exceeds even the description given to me by both Daiki and Momoi-san. It was a bit difficult for me to see you, so I hope you'll excuse me for invading your personal space."

The redheaded man stepped back with graceful strides before continuing: "My name is Akashi Seijuurou, a Sorcerer class player. And you are?"

"Kuroko Tetsuya, a Cleric."

"So, it is Tetsuya then. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance", the red-haired man spoke smoothly. It seemed he was used to calling others by first-name basis, making Kuroko feel like he shouldn't refute.

"Tetsuya, would you like to join my guild? I'm sure Daiki has already told you the details. My goal is to form the most powerful guild in this game, with quality rather than quantity. I am currently looking for at least one last member and a Healer such as yourself would fit into our ranks quite well, especially considering you are already familiar with two of our members. I must warn you though, we have quotas to meet, and to fulfill them, you should be prepared to become stronger."

Aomine gave him an encouraging look.

The Light Elf didn't even have to think of it, there was no way he would refuse. This was what he came here for, after all.

"I will gladly join, Akashi-kun."

_{You have joined the guild, "Generation of Miracles."}_

* * *

Midorima had just finished a match, and was warped back into the PVP arena. Somehow, in less than three minutes, Akashi had found _and _recruited someone into their guild. Surely they must have been something special if they could catch his attention that quickly.

He walked towards a head of red hair, easily seen from above the crowd due to his height.

"Shintarou", the redhead greeted him as he approached, "Allow me to introduce you two."

_…who? There's no one the–_

The shorter male gestured to his side, and before the Archer's eyes, a person materialized in plain sight, though even then it seemed as if he were looking upon an apparition. He wondered how he hadn't seen the shorter bluenette standing there, perhaps if it were some kind of illusion spell. If he recalled though, people couldn't use spells or skills in the PVP arena unless they were having an official duel. So how?

"This is Kuroko Tetsuya, a Cleric. He'll be joining us from now on, and I expect you to treat him accordingly". "And Tetsuya", he motioned towards the green-haired man, "this man is Midorima Shintarou. An Archer and this guild's Vice Leader."

_He doesn't seem very strong. He's short and looks rather frail. And does he ever blink? He has an extremely expressionless face._

"It's nice to meet you, Midorima-kun", the impassive-looking male said, bringing the tall man out of his train of thought.

"Midorima-kun?", the bespectacled man questioned. "Not 'san'_? _How old are you?", he asked, as it was rather disrespectful to call your seniors by the honorific Kuroko had used.

He paused for a moment before deadpanning, "I think you are mistaken in something… I am twenty years old already."

Midorima returned Kuroko's blank stare, not believing his words.

Aomine choked on his burger.

Even Akashi blinked at his response.

"You're twenty?", Aomine managed to wheeze out after dislodging the food from his throat.

"Yes". By now, the Cleric was starting to feel like this would become a running gag in his life. He opened up his profile and showed it to his newly gained guild members.

"Woah. You really are twenty. Dude, you're older than I am! I thought you were a high schooler or something."

"Daiki, that's rather rude. Also, would you please inform me of your schedule, Tetsuya? I've noticed from your profile that your level is a bit low and I'd like you to train with our members until we've reached something satisfactory."

The two began a discussion of how they could fit Kuroko's schedule with the others. Something about "training" and "partners".

"Come to think of it, where did Murasakibara, Momoi, and Haizaki go?", Midorima asked.

"Murasakibara went to go buy snacks, I think Satsuki logged out a while ago, and Haizaki is trying to hit on chicks in the town square."

"I see."

Truthfully, neither of these two could get along well with the other, so an awkward silence hung between them. Aomine would've tried to start a conversation but the only mutual topic they could discuss was this game. And while he thought Midorima was uptight, the other thought of him as rather brutish and slightly moronic, besides in battle.

A few minutes later, the two shorter members of the guild had completed their discussion.

"Daiki, Tetsuya, I trust you will be training for the duration of this day", were Akashi's final words before he pardoned Midorima and himself to leave under the guise of finding Murasakibara and stopping him from spending all his ladomi on food.

When they had walked out of the arena, Midorima spoke to Akashi in the private chat.

_"Akashi, what are you thinking inviting him into this guild? He doesn't look particularly strong. Even Momoi had said he had low stamina and only slightly above average spells. He has no commanding aura and nothing about him particularly stands out."_

_"Shintarou, that is precisely the point. He has an extremely weak presence, and if he utilizes the skill well, he could become our trump card. Also, I take it you did not see his staff?"_

His staff? Shintarou had been too busy trying to even focus on the person, let alone a weapon.

Taking his silence as an affirmative no, Akashi continued,_ "It was a Living Weapon, one I have overseen the creation of myself. It was but pure chance, but it would be of extreme difficultly to find someone that weapon is more suited for. I won't tell him of all its secrets myself though. I will merely watch him as he gains control over it on his own."_

_"I guess we'll see, though this could possibly be the one time when your judgment is wrong."_

_"Don't be foolish, Shintarou. Have I ever been wrong about anything like this?"_

The green-haired man sighed._ "I suppose not."_

_Oha Asa did say Sagittarius' have the best luck today…_

* * *

"Man, that was pretty surprising, Tetsu. He let you in really easily."

"Hmm?"

"The other guy we found had to go through a test to get in. He had to PVP a bunch of times with a time limit. His name is Haizaki, by the way. I think he was a Rogue class player. He has this really weird, OP weapon that lets him do a lot of crazy skills, and I think he joined this guild cuz Akashi bribed him with money and items and stuff. Anyways, I'm going off topic, but the main idea is that maybe it's because you're a Cleric that he didn't test your fighting skills. "

Kuroko wondered if that was really the case. "_You are not to participate in any one-on-one PVPs, Tetsuya, and you will understand soon enough why", _was said to him before the speaker of those words had left. No further explanation had been provided, just the simple order. The bluenette thought it best to follow them.

Then Kuroko's thoughts shifted towards a different direction.

"Aomine-kun… were you eating earlier?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. For some reason, they added food into the game. Didn't you check the updates list when you logged in?"

"I was busy coming here. I will look at them now."

"Kay."

Kuroko tested the hand motion for opening the updates window. He swiped his hand from his right side to his front. Several options appeared, one being his message box. Directly underneath that was the updates list, which a lithe finger pressed.

_04/24/38–04/25/38 Patch 0.1 Updates:_

_- In accordance to popular request, taste and hunger functions have been added into the Options Menu. Players will now be able to trade ladomi for virtual sustenance, though they can only eat about as much as they could in reality because the brain can recognize its limits. Eating in the game will not replace real food, so it is important to remember to log-out every few hours._

_- Due to a multitude of adventurers disregarding the rules and overplaying Kiseki World, therefore damaging their health, we have lowered the amount of time a player can be logged in from eight hours to six-and-a-half. The previous statements of having to log-out for forty minutes and the penalty for breaking the limit still stand._

_- If a player is connected to a monitored gaming area set up by Akashi Industries, however, they can stay in the game longer and only have to take a twenty minute break._

_- There is now a weekly limit of 100 hours of game play. If the problem of overplay persists, it will be lowered once again._

_- "Day" and "Night" features have now been added to most regions in the game to encourage players to log-out regularly and sleep. In some areas, monsters have different skills or statuses during the different times of day._

_- Stamina levels have been decreased, also to encourage logging-out and to make for less brutal game play. As our way of compensating, the pain level has decreased to 16%._

_- The __Alchemist__* class is now available for gameplay._

_Please be courteous of your fellow players and considerate of the administration._  
_–The system programmer and management teams._

Kuroko closed the window.

"They've changed a lot during this first patch."

"It'd suck if they got any stricter with the game play rules."

"Aomine-kun. Since Akashi said to, shall we go train now?"

The Fighter gave his cheerful, toothy grin.

"Of course!"

* * *

I'll admit it. I love writing clumsy Kuroko. And suave Akashi. Teehee.

I've been having a lot of plot bunnies in my head for new stories lately. If I ever do post a new story during the duration of this fic, I'll make sure it doesn't get in the way of this since it takes priority. Having writing-highs are fun.

Anyways, thank you for reading once again. I hope you read again in the next chapter~

Comments? Critiques? Advice? lay 'em at me.


	12. Chapter 11: Gray & Purple

Hello Readers. It is I, GPS.

I realized I've been using a lot of terms and not explaining them. Especially the term "OP". If anyone didn't know, it stands for "overpowered". I'm sure in Japan they use a different phrase, but I don't speak the language so please excuse this and any other translations and wouldn't work unless they were English (usually bad puns).

PK- Player Kill  
KS-Kill Steal

And now, since its been requested, some character ages (I'll write the ones who haven't appeared later):

Kuroko, Akashi, Midorima-20  
Aomine, Murasakibara, Takao, Haizaki, Momoi-19  
Seirin is all 21 or 22 depending on their birthdays (which I'm currently too lazy to find)

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to a high school girl.

* * *

Chapter 11: Gray & Purple

* * *

_Thursday: April 26, 2038. 11:13 A.M._

"Oi, Healer."

"My name is Kuroko, Haizaki-kun."

"Whatever! Just don't get in my way. Akashi told us to train together so just be damn grateful I'm even here."

The man talking to Kuroko was a level 30 Thief class player known as Haizaki Shougo (or in the game, just Haizaki). He was the sixth member to join their guild, _Generation of Miracles_, a few hours before the blue-haired man's arrival to the scene.

According to Aomine, the main reason Haizaki had been admitted into the guild was because he was in possession of a Living Weapon that took the form of some kind of Arabian-themed knife. Its main function allowed its user to _steal_ and _use_ the skills of other players. The weapon even had a special function that allowed him to shift his stats around, though there were certain limits to it.

Currently, he and Kuroko were walking towards one of the higher level monster maps on the island–an area located within the territory closest to the Mage's city, _Arsajia._

The Cleric of the two-man party was now level 23, mostly due to the hour or so spent on monster grinding with Aomine the day prior. He would've liked to train with the dark-skinned man longer, but both men regrettably had work that night.

After the Paladin had left, Kuroko had spent his remaining half hour of game time (he had an eight o'clock night shift at the convenience store) to walk to the Fighter city, _Verran_, where a player would be safe from PKers and active aggro monsters.

Having night in the game made it considerably easier to be ambushed–not that it mattered much to Kuroko since he wouldn't be seen anyways, but it still applied to most other. In addition to the PKers though, some monsters gained power-ups during the dusk hours, as well as different abilities than during the day. Having little physical defense, the Cleric thought it'd be in his best interest to leave the area.

After entering the realm of dreams around midnight, the semi-invisible man slept soundly for the next couple of hours before arising at six.

Actually, make that 6:15.

He couldn't resist pressing the snooze button on his alarm clock.

The rest of the morning went like this: He had completed his usual routine, attended another three-hour college class, and then returned home to his humble abode. Since he had the time, the bluenette took a quick shower as he hadn't had the chance yesterday night. Now his baby-blue locks smelled like citrus; courtesy of Takao as Kuroko's own bottle had been depleted.

By the way, when I say a quick shower, I mean _quick_. In this future, things like hovercrafts and information beamed into your head hadn't yet become available–the changes made in the last twenty years or so were mostly of VR simulations, gay marriage rights, and efficiency.

Take for example Takao's shampoo (which he actually owned a rather large collection of). Besides the scents being more potent and long-lasting, many other aspects had also been improved. For example, certain chemicals were mixed in that not only made for healthy, shiny hair, but also to stick to follicles well. Heating them up caused a reaction that made them dry safely in a matter of seconds.

By this year, 2038, almost anything that could've been improved had been.

Even humans.

The average life-span of Japan's population had become nearly 93 by now. People could run off less sleep too; the majority only required anywhere from two to six hours at most to be able to get through their day without crashing. It also seemed they were getting smarter, thanks to more funding towards educational systems and scientifically manufactured brain supplements and stimulation.

But again, I digress.

Kuroko and Haizaki, after walking for fifteen minutes or so, had reached their destination: a monster map filled with level 26, snake-like creatures called _Sellupe_. Akashi had requested the two train here as Kuroko would have an easier time killing them due to the fact they have weak magic defense.

The Cleric sent a Dark Ball towards the closest one he could find,and it perished with just that one blow.

_{+280 Experience [+20 guild bonus]}  
{Kuroko has obtained: Sellupe Skin, 523 ladomi}*_

Haizaki groaned. "Why did Akashi make us come here? These monsters give so little EXP. And why did I even have to come? You can just one-hit K.O. them all!"

"Ano, Haizaki-kun, you should turn around."

"Huh?"

_Too late._

The taller man turned, only to be bitten in the arm by one of the _Sellupe_. Except for the fact that it was no longer the same as before.

_[-736 HP, Haizaki: {16,064/16,800}]_

Latched onto his forearm was a different kind of snake creature, both in color and size. Before, it had been thin and a pale orange color, a large contrast in relation to its bulky mass and the dark shade of purple it's shining scales had become. If Haizaki had paid attention to Akashi's message, he probably would have known what it was.

This slightly different creature was known as a _Vipera, _a leveled up form that was apparently supposed to be the molted form of a _Sellupe_. Just all about all aspects of these were powered up, from its attacks and defense to speed and AI.

"What the fucking hell?!"

The thief had just cut the monster in half, but its front still had its fangs sunk into his skin, showing no signs of disappearing. The other was still wriggling on the ground helplessly.

"Ah. Haizaki-kun, you have to aim for their head."

_[Haizaki has been {poisoned}]_

"And also, they can inject you with venom."

"Tell me these things sooner! You're really starting to piss me off, y'know?"

The taller man grabbed the beast and pulled it out forcefully before stabbing into its head a few times, effectively killing it.  
_  
{+545 Experience [+20 guild bonus]}  
{Haizaki has obtained: Vipera Skin, 735 ladomi}*_

While he did so, Kuroko took the time to cast a _Heal_ and _Cure_ before the monster's venom could start taking effect. According to Akashi's information, any afflicted persons would start getting slower and weaker and, eventually, completely paralyzed.

Imagine spending twenty minutes lying there like a rock unable to lift a finger. It's a rather unpleasant scenario.

This, however, was one of the reasons the redhead had chosen this map for these two; Kuroko as a Cleric had a spell that could counteract venom. Thanks to the monsters' nature and rather annoying status, the entire map was left empty besides these two, meaning they could train as much as they desired without interruption.

Clearly by now though, Kuroko was sure he and Haizaki would never get along very well; something which evidently showed in their results at the end of their training.

For pretty much the entire thing, the silver-haired man would snap at Kuroko, expecting the Cleric to heal or cure him every time he decided to charge into a throng of monsters with no set execution method. At one point, he had complained that the shorter man was too slow with buffing and healing, and semi-threatened that he might take his spells if he didn't start casting faster (even though it was expressly forbidden by their guild leader).

Halfway through, Kuroko had to remind him that this training session was supposed to be for _him._

Haizaki apologized with obvious sarcasm, enjoying the fact he was starting to get a rise out of the stone-faced Cleric.

Later on, after Kuroko had half-killed a group of _Vipera_, the Thief had casted an AOE spell of his own and killed them all, taking the bulk of the experience for himself (The final strike dealt gets a large chunk of the EXP).

To Kuroko's monotonous, "Haizaki-kun, I would appreciate if you did not KS me. You are strong enough to kill your own monsters.", the other had replied with a condescending smirk, "But other people's things are always better, so I can't help it."

In the end, even after nearly two hours of trying to train, the Cleric hadn't even leveled up once (granted, he was close to it, but it still didn't count). Haizaki on the other hand, had upped his count by two. It would have been surprising considering their level difference if he hadn't spent so much time heckling Kuroko.

Needless to say, for Kuroko it was a rather fruitless partnership.

Leaving because he had two-hour college class starting soon, the Elf logged out of the game.

The blue-haired man removed the VR gear, let out a heavy sigh, and allowed his brows to furl from the pent up annoyance. The only thing he felt good about was that he didn't outwardly show any reaction to Haizaki's games.

Perhaps next time he'd just fade into the background and go train somewhere else.

Or perhaps there wouldn't be a "next time".

He'd like that.

* * *

_Thursday: April 26, 2038. 15:58 P.M.  
_

"Nee, Kuro-chin. Do you want a piece?", the purple-haired man offered, holding out a bag of wrapped candies.

Kuroko's neck was starting to hurt from how much he had to crane his neck to see Murasakibara's face.

"No thank you, Murasakibara-kun."

This pair had met up about twenty minutes ago Kuroko in the central town. The Berserker had been easy to see over the crowd, being almost seven feet tall and having violet-tinted hair and all. Truthfully, it was rather intimidating, but he had already decided to not judge by outward appearance.

In the first few minutes of their meeting, Murasakibara had been somewhat detached: slouched over and with a sullen expression etched upon his features.

They had been walking out of town when the Cleric noticed the Beast-man staring longingly at some snacks at an outside vendor. When he had inquired about it, the other replied, "Aka-chin said I spent too much on sweets, so he's not letting me buy anymore this week". A small but definite pout made its way onto his face, and his virtual ears drooped.

For some reason, it hit a bit of a soft spot in Kuroko. The towering giant reminded his faintly of some of the children in the kindergarten, who sometimes had a similar look whenever they were scolded or–like Murasakibara–denied snacks.

And so, the bluenette approached the NPC vendor and bought an armful of random treats.

The Beserker's face visibly lit up when the shorter man proclaimed it was for him, dumping the collection into his happily cradled hands. The Cleric was sure he could see a pink aura surrounding the other as he popped several pieces of candy into his mouth.

Since then, he's been affectionately called "Kuro-chin" by the sweets-loving man.

_It's a bit less hard to believe I'm older than him._

The seemingly mismatched pair arrived in their designated training spot, this time back in a map near _Verran._

When Kuroko had reported that he'd only leveled once more that morning, Akashi had told him to come here. Instead of hunting the same monsters from before like planned, the Sorcerer wanted to overturn the setback and sent them to a different map.

_Species: Taolus  
Level: 30_  
_Hit Points: 42,000  
Common Attack(s): Horn Drive, Stomp  
Common Item(s): Taolus Horn, Taolus Hoof  
Experience: 2,440  
Status: Passive Aggro_

_Description: Taolus have extremely sharp horns as their main weapon when charging at you. They have no magic capabilities, but have high physical ATK, DEF, and Magic DEF. Their weak point seems to be their flanks._

This was the archived catalogue of the monster Kuroko and Murasakibara had been fighting. The creatures resembled bulls, the most notable difference being their larger, flat hooves and horns. The game had also granted this creation three tails and fur in certain areas, which gave it more defense there, apparently.

Kuroko was now working on training his instant spells besides Magic Ball, as he hadn't used much of them before. Most recently, he's been spamming Judgment and getting the hang of binding skills and de-buffs.

He cast another slowing spell on one of the _Taolus,_ which had been running at Murasakibara.

The purple-haired man was unfazed by the creature, not only because he'd been fighting them for the last hour, but because he thought they were _weak. _A few of his strongest skills could one-hit K.O. the beasts.

Not only that, but when he had chosen the Beserker class, Akashi had told him to adopt the element of _Earth_, which had the best of defensive skills. He extremely strong offensive-wise (though unless told to, he usually didn't fight), but his physical DEF was also something to marvel at. He was what one might refer to as the ultimate tank.

Murasakibara swung his broadsword at the creature, not to kill, but to deflect it away from him. His blade hit the _Taolus'_ horns, causing the monster to veer off to the side. At the same time, Kuroko hit it with another of his instant spells.

_[-5,345 HP, Taolus: {26,834/42,000}]_

The creature then roared and switched its target, now instead attempting to stomp the Cleric into the ground.

He started casting one of his higher-level spells while sidestepping (something Aomine had taught him how to do) around the creature. Slowly but surely, he'd been getting the hang of multi-tasking like this. In the beginning, when he had first tried, the monster had caught him squarely, knocking out the majority of his HP in one hit. If Murasakibara hadn't been around, he probably would've died easily.

Something like this really made him want to get stronger. He wouldn't accept being a nuisance–not to the people who were aiming for the top.

He was honestly happy just because of the fact he was in a guild. A part of a team that had said he could make a difference. The bluenette had stopped thinking thoughts like this could be possible way back in middle school, all due to the fact that he'd been in the middle of his "disappearing act."

A dark aura started to surround Kuroko's staff, circulating around the gem glowing at its head.

The _Taolus_ turned and backtracked, once again out for Kuroko's blood if its stomping and bellowing were any indication.

Again and again, the monster charged.

Again and again, Kuroko danced around it.

Of course, they only stopped when one of them met death.

Kuroko wiped the sweat from his face.

* * *

_Thursday: April 26, 2038. 18:53 P.M._

Close to three hours following the start of his training session with Murasakibara found Kuroko once again in the real world.

In the time he and the giant were training, he had reached level 26, three up from what it was previously. It was considerably easier to level up with no silver-haired obstructions in his path.

The _Phantom's Staff of Arcane Shadows_ had reached level 24, and a new type of spell had become available in Kuroko's archive. Since the blue-haired man wasn't exactly sure how it'd be useful, he decided to consult Akashi about it as they were to meet the next day–seeing as they were both Mage types and such.

But for now, dinner.

The bluenette hadn't eaten since early that afternoon, so he rummaged in the fridge for leftover rice and set to frying some eggs. A few minutes into his endeavors, Takao walked in from his room.

"Ooh, eggs. You wanna fry me one too? I'm starving. Do we have any more rice?"

"It's in the fridge. And also, you could just cook them by yourself", Kuroko deadpanned, though he still cracked another egg into the pan.

"Thanks Tet-chan", the other crooned as he too pulled out some rice to heat up. From a refrigerated cabinet, he pulled out a jar of green onion kimchi.

"Takao-kun, why do you keep asking me to go out for kimchi if you still have some?"

The raven let out and shook his head. "Tsk tsk, Tet-chan. You just don't understand the power of authentic, fresh kimchi dishes. Besides, a new Korean place opened up downtown and I heard they have some really good variety". He sat down and waited as Kuroko finished cooking and placing eggs in both their bowls.

"That reminds me, Tet-chan, how are you doing in the game so far?"

"I fail to see how kimchi reminds you about virtual reality."

"It's just an expression! Anyways, answer the question."

Kuroko had to think back a bit since his last few days gaming had been rather eventful. "I became a Cleric and joined a guild with strong people", he replied after a few seconds.

The black-haired man slapped Kuroko on the back and said happily, "That's great! You're finally meeting some new people!"

"I'd appreciated if you stopped that. I can't eat my food."

Takao pretended to cry and wipe his eyes. "My little Tet-chan is leaving the nest", he sniffled dramatically.

In his mind though, he actually was genuinely glad that the bluenette was interacting with people other than his housemates and family. When they first met it had taken at least two months to get to a point where the other seemed to feel comfortable enough for them to hold a decent conversation. Since then, he'd gotten considerably more talkative (which still wasn't much, but it was a start).

He clapped his hands together.

"So, tell me about your guild members. I'm pretty curious."

"They are all very interesting people."

"Details, Tet-chan! Details!"

"Well…"

* * *

_**XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**__XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx_

Page breaks won't work TT3TT__

Kiseki World Online: Class system

_Kiseki World Online currently has a variety of about 30 different classes, with more still being made._

_The first "class" that each player goes through is a beginner, which can't use magic. At level 10, though it isn't required (only highly recommended), there are four "level 2" classes to choose–Fighters/Warriors, Mages, Hunters/Rangers, and Rogues. The class change NPCs can be found in the castle located on the game's second island's town, Tolucini._

_At level 15, a person can become a "level 3" class on the third island continent, Aforia. There are five cities here, one of which is a neutral town in the center of the island. Level 15 is also the level a person can get their first "element", though that can be explained further later. By the way, monsters on this island reach up to level 35, so many people stay there for a long time. There are approximately 150 different types of monsters on the island. Though Aforia is rather large, because it is a game, the travel time between maps is much smaller than they'd be in RL._

_Finally, once a player is level 25, they can become a "level 4" class. After Aforia is another large, neutral island where a person can then sail from to a variety of other smaller ones. Unlike the previous class changes, some of the level 4 classes require a quest or test before a person can advance._

_When a person upgrades classes, they get one less skill slot and skill point each time they level, unless that number is already one. Skill points and slots can also be bought, though it requires Mira. The amount gets bigger every time a person buys something._

* * *

This part of the story turned out longer than I expected. The next chapter will be sort of a part two~

Since I'm bored, who wants to try to find the Kikuro easter eggs I hid in this fanfic? There's three of them, I think XD

If any of the terms I used aren't understood, just PM me or post a question review and I'll answer.

Thank you for reading, you guys are so cool.


	13. Chapter 12: Green & Red

We're on chapter 12~

But anyways, from now on this story will be betaed by Hayasaka Shion-san, so please give her a warm welcome~

And also, it's that sad time of the year. Testing season. Why do I fail at math so hard. /crais

Disclaimer:  
Roses are red,  
Violets are blue,  
Poems are hard,  
I don't own Kuroko no Basuke.

* * *

Chapter 12: Green & Red

* * *

_Friday: April 27, 2038. 17:23 P.M._

"You're too slow, Kuroko. "

"I am aware of that, Midorima-kun", the bluenette replied, attempting to dodge an oncoming attack. Key word: attempting.

_[-133 HP, Kuroko: {2,976/3,860}]_

Earlier this day, the Light Elf had once again helped at the Kindergarten before arriving back in the game about half an hour prior. Afterwards, he met up with the bespectacled Bowman to train.

"What is your zodiac sign?" was the first thing the other had asked him, and though he failed to see how it was relevant, he answered the question anyways with "Aquarius." The green-haired man had shook his head and pushed up his glasses with his left hand–which Kuroko, by the way, noticed was bandaged.

"Our zodiac signs are incompatible today. Make sure you walk at least two meters away from me. Even though I had my lucky item earlier, I couldn't bring it into the game and don't want to chance anything."

He had started walking while Kuroko trailed behind him, though he was reprimanded for getting closer than the set distance from the Archer.

Now, at the current moment, these two are in one of the monster maps near _Phaenari_, the Hunter's town. The bluenette is currently fighting against the second flying monsters he'd come across in the game. They had the appearance of bats but were a dull grey that highlighted the electric blue streaks running down their bodies. Upon closer inspection, what he thought to be fur was actually feathers.

According to both Akashi and Momoi, the winged creatures they were fighting now, _Mavalore_, were some of the fastest monsters on the island. In hindsight, this map wasn't a very good place for the Cleric to train, but these two had a significant reason for being here that accompanied the bluenette's need to level.

Quite simply put, it was target practice.

At his current speed, it was easy enough to hit monsters that were of average speed or barely moved, but things like this were a problem. In comparison to Hunter type players, Mages were a lot slower. An instant spell like Magic Ball would most likely miss in such cases that the enemy was an agility based type.

Akashi had told them to train here in order for Kuroko to enhance his speed, eyes, and aim, saying something along the lines of "preparing for the future". And so, Midorima, their best sharpshooter by far, and Kuroko were both sent here in hopes that the Cleric would be able to improve.

So far, not much progress had been made.

The only way the bluenette had been able to hit the _Mavalore_ so far was by hitting them with a wide-targetting AOE spell, though he was told not to use it because it'd defeat the purpose of coming here.

He had tried casting Dark Judgment on one of the creatures, but in the second it took for the attack to strike, the enemy had already flown out of range. All his other instant spells had missed as well, and by a large margin. Concentrating harder than usual about willing the magic he controlled did seem to make them go faster, but still not enough to even ruffle the monster's feathers–both in the literal sense and not.

At the current time, one of the _Mavalore_ Kuroko had tried attacking had turned the tables back at him. In its passive state it was quite fast, so the first time he had attacked one, he had been unpleasantly surprised by the speed it gained when it dived at him.

While the monster had low attack power, its agility made up for it. This was the reason that Mage and Fighter type players didn't often come here–simply put, they were too slow. Rogue types, however (primarily Assassins as they were ranged) could hit the creatures almost as well as any Gunman or Archer.

Sadly, Kuroko was none of these.

He tried focusing his eyes on the winged beast, though the light above made it unclear to his eyes. He saw its shape turn, folding its wings back and diving once again. This same general pattern has been occurring since he got here, though at least now it was in his vision. At the beginning, he could only see its blurs shifting in and out of view as his HP started to fall with the afternoon sun.

_[-127 HP, Kuroko: {2,849/3,860}]_

"Use your head, aim where they're going–not where they are. You must've memorized its attack pattern by now. If you can't even do this, you'll just be a burden in future."

_[-152 HP, Kuroko: {2,697/3,860}]_

Well sure, the _Mavalore's_ way of attacking was rather simple, but that didn't chance the fact that they flew at breakneck speeds. Try as he might, even when he knew the enemy's path toward him, he couldn't even lay a scratch on it.

"You should consider getting your lucky item the next time you attempt something like this. I do…"

For the umpteenth time, the Archer next to him raised his bow. With expert precision, an arrow shot out and pierced through the bat monster's breast.

"… And it's why I never miss."

The bluenette was just slightly irked by the way the other said phrases that sounded cool but ended in "_-nanodayo._"

On the other side, the green-haired man was still trying to find out the reason of why Akashi had wanted them to train here, of all places they could've gone. Clearly the monsters were far too quick for the bluenette to hit; no way would the Sorcerer have overlooked that.

_…_

_No way would Akashi have overlooked that…_

"… Kuroko, have you been putting in your stat points?"

"I've forgotten to since a few levels ago."

"Open the window," the bespectacled man commanded.

The bluenette blinked but complied to the other's request, wondering why he was being told to do this.

Midorima's emerald-green eyes scanned over the numbers written on the screen. He put a hand up to his face, eyes narrowing just the slightest. "You've been putting too much in _INT_. Besides the fact that you're lower level than these monsters, your data is way too imbalanced. Never mind _STR_, but your _AGT _and _DEX_ are too low, it doesn't look like you've put a single point in either since you started playing."

"I'm apologize, I was only focusing on making my magic power higher."

"How many more stat points do you have?"

"Forty-five."

The Archer sighed. "Do you not realize how much of a difference these stat points make? Sure you can train your strength or speed in game, but these are a major part of the fundamentals of any fight. You've been neglecting them for far too long."

"I was unaware," Kuroko replied. In all honesty, he really hadn't known he'd need anything other than _INT_.

"I suggest you put thirty of that in _AGT_ and the rest in _DEX._For every time you level up, put in your stats immediately–I don't understand how you could've forgotten to for three entire levels. For mages, either your _DEX _or _AGT_ should be a fourth of your _INT _depending on the way you fight_. _The other about should be a sixth."

The shorter man did as the other had recommended and pressed the buttons, watching as the numbers rose.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but your attacks in comparison to other players of your type are slow."

Kuroko's eyes widened a bit. "What do you mean?"

"Well, your speed isn't terrible, but it's nothing to be proud of. You may be faster than the average player when it comes to spells, but if you were to be matched with a more naturally gifted player, for example Akashi, you'd never be able to win with your level."

"Ah, I see," the Cleric replied, both relieved that he was at least up to standard and confounded that there were players that were faster than him even without any special weapons. "What can I do… to become stronger?"

The other pushed up his glasses with his left hand. "For what reason do you think he sent us here? Obvious you have to train", he huffed. "It'll be easier with those stat points."

The blue-haired man turned his head up and targeted one of the _Mavalore_. He pointed his hand towards it, and concentrated on forming a ball of darkness in his hand.

Though the shot came closer than ever this time, it was still evaded by the flying creature, who took a dive at the Elf.

It was strange though, all of a sudden he could see it so much more clearly. His eyes could now see some detail in the once blurry vision. He tried to sidestep and noticed that his feet felt a lighter as well, though the creature's claws still grazed him on the side of his cheek.

_[-47 HP, Kuroko: {2,650/3,860}]_

The _Mavalore_ flew back into the sky. Kuroko positioned himself to attempt another counter as it plummeted towards him. With his sky-blue eyes focused solely on the beast, he released another spell.

_[-274 HP, Mavalore: {2726/3,000}]_

Though he didn't hit the creature dead on, it was still progress. He'd just have to try again.

And again.

And again.

And in the end, an entire three hours were spent on this effort.

The virtual sun was starting to set and Kuroko could now actually kill the monsters in one hit–minus a few exceptions but he'd work on that. When they returned to the nearest town, his green-haired partner said a gruff "goodbye" and promptly left in another direction.

The time they'd spent training together led the bluenette to think the other might not have been such a difficult person as he had first suspected. Despite his sharp tongue, arrogant way of carrying himself, and someone condescending manner towards him, everything he had said and done did help the Cleric (or at least he'd like to think).

He said his farewell to the Archer's receding figure and turned to get to his next destination: The central town. In nearly an hour's time, he was to meet with his guild leader–the one-and-only Akashi Seijuurou.

* * *

_"So Shintarou, what are your opinions about him?"_

_"Frankly speaking, I'm unsure if he'd ever be good enough. His attack power is strong, but he's slow and can't apply his skills well yet. I can admit he's a fast learner, but he still has a long way to go before he can reach the level of any other of our members."_

_"Perhaps, though like both Daiki and Shougo, his true strength cannot be released merely by fighting monsters. I believe you'll see what I mean once we enter the arenas, though for now, we'll train him."_

_"For now I'll trust your judgment, though I still can't see how he could ever become as strong as you say."_

_"Patience, Shintarou. Patience."_

* * *

Friday: April 27, 2038. 22:14 P.M.

For the past thirty minutes, Kuroko has been reading novels online.

After arriving in _Medias_, he had logged out to eat for about half an hour before returning soon after as he had wanted to be punctual.

Akashi had told him to meet here at ten, but strangely enough, it was already a quarter past the appointed time and the man who proposed it had not yet arrived.

It was another ten minutes later when Kuroko heard his name–his first name, of course–addressed by the somewhat familiar voice.

"Tetsuya."

"Ah, Akashi-kun", he nodded in acknowledgement as he shut the internet window.

"I apologize for my tardiness, I had some unexpected business to attend to."

"I do not mind," Kuroko responded blankly. "May I ask what we are doing today?"

The other's eyes made contact with his own. "Besides any training today, I would like to study your fighting patterns, if you happen to be fine with that arrangement."

Slightly unexpected, but the Cleric nodded anyways. Somehow, it seemed like it'd be very hard for just about anyone to refuse the eloquent man in front of him.

Akashi gave a small smile to the Light Elf's approval before he started to cast a spell, a magic circle appearing above him. Kuroko took it as a sign he should step under it, and so he did. A minute later, the Sorcerer completed his chant and the ring descended upon them, enveloping them both in a pitch-black void.

_So this is what dimension magic is like._

When he opened his eyes that he hadn't been aware he'd closed, the blue-haired man found himself and Akashi on a deserted plain with rock, forest, and water surrounding them.

Why are we here?

"I take it you are questioning why we are here?"

Kuroko couldn't help but think the other might be a mind reader.

"…yes."

"And before you come to any silly conclusions, no, I cannot read minds. Your expression tells me all I need to know."

_My expression? Somehow, that's even less believable than thinking he's psychic._

"I've disclosed this fact to all our other members, though I believe it's something that should be said in person as quite often the other party would not be able to find it true."

One of his hands made its way to his golden eye. Tracing it, he said, "This left eye of mine can see the future–"

Kuroko tried to keep his stare blank.

"–Or at least something quite similar to it. Any miniscule motion made, but you or any other, my eye can capture it so long as I you're in my sights."

It made slightly more sense than the other statement.

"It is my advantage in battle, just like your natural misdirection."

"Misdirection?"

"Yes, Tetsuya. Misdirection is a trick used to draw attentions away from oneself. Like a magician performing a trick, it's almost as if your very being rejects any gaze from finding you. The only reason I can see you like this is because I possess this skill and have mentally prepared myself to the fact you're here. As such, when I'm this close to you, I can read the slight shifts in your facial structure."

Once again, the bluenette found his eyes looking into Akashi's mismatched orbs. He couldn't help but think Akashi was a very direct person in regards to this habit of staring and calling others by their first names.

"I will teach you how to fight. To use your disposition as your advantage."

"Akashi-kun, is that even possible?"

The other gave him a seemingly all-knowing smile. "Of course. But for now, you must get stronger both mentally and systematically. I want you to prepare yourself to be able to vanish completely by your own will. You can't only rely on that, however. You must become stronger, until you've learned enough and have reached a level where you can take care of yourself even if your misdirection wore off. I believe you have the ability and the resolve."

His gaze burned into Kuroko's intently with no sign of doubt evident in his shining orbs. "Are you ready, Tetsuya?"

The Cleric had to take a second to clear his throat and find his voice, processing all the information and expectations the red-haired man had just released upon him. He sucked in an air of breath.

Somehow, with a strange feeling akin to confidence and more conviction than he thought he could ever muster in his life, two simple words found their way out of his mouth:

"I'm ready."

Without a word, only the deliberate closing of his eyes, the Sorcerer began to cast a spell.

Merely seconds later, a large column of fire destroyed the gentleness of the moonlit night. From somewhere to the left, an animalistic cry sounded out, though the Elf couldn't see what was making it until a creature emerged from the shadow blanketed forest.

Then, little-by-little, more roars and shrieks could be heard in the far-off distance, and shadows dancing beneath the reflections of the moon in the water.

Akashi had just unleashed a monster _hell._

Kuroko stood dazed and awestruck by the sheer amount of silhouettes he was starting to see in the distance, so much that he didn't notice that first creature from before lunge at his throat until it was right in front of his face.

Thankfully, Akashi killed the beast in a single blow before it could strike. Its ashes were burnt to the ground just as they started disappearing as pixels into air.

"Concentrate on your enemies. We can help on each other if need be, but you are not allowed to place your utmost reliance on me by excusing yourself as 'weak'."

His lips formed the same smile from earlier, but this time it showed just a hint of wicked mischievousness.

"Don't die, Tetsuya."

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Elements (pt.1)_

_There are eight basic elements a person can choose when playing KWO, though only when the person has reached level 15 at least. These basic forms are: fire, water, plant, earth, air/wind, electric, dark (also called black magic), and light (also called white magic). At certain points in time, when a person has had these for long enough, they can get leveled up or more specialized skills. __For example, a person with water type attributes can learn spells in the category of ice, mist, or some other form of liquid. People with light magic can diverge into sun, holy, or another sub-category._

_If a person has two elements, let's say fire and earth, the two can mix and be upgraded into rock. If that same example had dark magic added, it'd become metal. Not to say that all elements can mix together though. Some, like plant and water don't have any inbetween. In this case though, plant spells do get an attack bonus. __Electric magic, however, will rarely mix with any other element._

_All together, there are about 30 different elements and sub-type elements available for general use._

* * *

Since I mentioned my KiKuro easter eggs last time, I will write them here.

Even from the prologue chapter I've been supporting this as KiKuro. Where, you ask? 9650 1511 1437. Kuroko Tetsuya's ID verification code. 965 = (Ku)(ro)ku and though 5 is go, it sounds like (ko) so people use it like that. 15 and 11 are obviously his jersey numbers. And 143 used to be a popular way of saying "I love you" because of the number of letters in the words. 7 is, of course, Kise's jersey number in Kaijou. (Midorima's used to be 7, but this ain't MidoKuro so yeaaaah.)

From chapter 9, the Kindergarten chapter, my eggs are the class names used. The "Sunflower class" and the "Hydrangea class", because the colors of the petals generally remind me of Kise and Kuroko.

And finally, my favorite. You wanna know why Kuroko works in a convenience store? Well first of all, for my convenience /shot, and second of all, what's a very popular chain of convenience stores all around the world? That's right. 7-Eleven. 7-11. SEVEN AND ELEVEN. /shot again.

Anywho, those were my eggs. I'll reveal more story secrets like this in the next chapter. Sorry that this is an edit, I'll probably re-post it next chapter for anyone who misses it.

By the way, I'm actually planning a story about Kuroko, Kise, and a Konbini (alliteration :D). Hopefully i'll actually start writing before KiKuro day, which again is July 11. SEVEN AND ELEVEN. Can we please just call them the convenience store couple or something? Why doesn't this fandom ever make pairing names? I'm really hyper now so I apologize.

On the next chapter: More Kuroko, Akashi, and the rest of the GoM guild.

Thanks for reading again~


	14. Chapter 13: Progress & Meeting

Hello everybody~

I've been trying to improve the quality of my writing lately, so I hope that shows. Speaking of the raising my quality of writing, Hayasaka Shion-san is now beta-ing this story (from the last chapter onward)~ :D

Btw, if anyone happened to read the last chapter when it was first uploaded and didn't see the author's notes, they are there now~

The page breaks are going crazy for some reason .

Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

* * *

_Chapter 13: Progress & Meeting_

* * *

Kuroko Tetsuya stood his ground, staff poised and breath ragged.

Fighting off an endlessly streaming horde of monsters for the time he'd been here–around twenty minutes–was taking a toll on him, quickly collapsing his resistance and will without an end in sight.

There was time for neither rest nor peace when there was a seemingly infinite amount of ferocious beasts programmed only to bite, maim, or literally _destroy_ him. They weren't too fast or strong, but their numbers were practically abysmal.

Just a few short paces away, his guild leader seemed to have little difficulty dealing with this. Even if they weren't attacking all at once, you'd think by now anyone would be exhausted by having to dodge and attack without missing a beat, especially with the mental strain of having to cast spells with teeth and claws practically shoved down your throat.

But of course, this might just be for people who had never met Akashi Seijuurou. The only sign that he was fatigued if only by an infinitesimal amount was the few beads of sweat dripping down his face.

In comparison, Kuroko felt like a bath towel.

In case no one understands what I mean, a very much drenched bath towel.

The two magic users had found a somewhat steady rhythm of attacking, dodging, the Cleric buffing and healing whenever he was covered by Akashi, giving him just a second to breathe before being thrown back into the frenzy by the arrival of new, un-charred monsters. Of course, this had taken a while; in the beginning the younger man had messed up several times by stumbling or missing his targets, leading to the other having to save him.

In retrospect though, the Cleric supposed he was doing quite well. He was making extremely good progress with the leveling–he didn't have the time to input his stat points like he was told, but he was surviving and getting good experience.

With all the other times he trained, he had to actively seek out monsters to kill since they never re-spawned this quickly, and there was also the obvious fact that there were just an insane amount of players in almost every good monster map.

But now, after all the running and dodging and casting, Kuroko felt nauseous right down to hit gut; He was sure if he weren't in a game he'd be spending a lot of time next to a porcelain throne. The Cleric was starting to become very acquainted with the meaning of "vertigo". Besides this, his vision was starting to blur every few moments, and his legs were starting to become numb from all the strenuous activity he was experiencing.

_Why do I even bother to go jogging?_

By now, both men could tell the bluenette was at his absolute limit before collapse.

The red-haired man quickly chanted out the words to an AOE he knew would be strong enough to kill the majority of monsters in the vicinity but not quite lengthy enough for Kuroko to be killed.

In the time that it took for the next set of monsters to start crawling–or running, flying, or swimming–their way, he had already finished his fastest dimensional travel spell, sending both of them to the nearest area where they'd be safe from any immediate harm.

From then, he could safely cast a spell that could send the two to the nearest town, which was _Arsajia._

Kuroko, who was infinitely glad that torture was over, let himself crumble into a heap on the ground, cooling himself on the flat stones.

"What… was that?" he managed to wheeze out from his burning throat.

"That? It's only a location where several low-level monster maps meet. The monsters there become actively aggressive during the night, so if they so much as see an attack, they accumulate in large numbers. It's not recommended to train during these hours, but thanks to that there's no significant interference."

"I see", said the bluenette rasped, trying to prop himself up into a sitting position and failing miserably, pitifully, and comically as he bumped his head against the hard ground.

_[-17 HP, Kuroko: {1,394/4,520}]_

"It's not polite to laugh at injured people, Akashi-kun", Kuroko spoke to the red-haired man who had let out a soft chuckle.

"My apologies, Tetsuya. It's just that you are quite different from how I'd first imagined you to be. I hadn't expected you to be quite so… clumsy. It's rather intriguing in a ineptitude doesn't show as much while you fight."

"Should I take that as an insult or a compliment?" the blue-haired man questioned, this time successfully raising himself from the hard turf.

"I suppose either is fine, though I want you to learn from the errors you've made in combat. As strong as your spells are, your accuracy is still a bit off even if it has improved since training with Shintarou earlier. More often you need to test your enemy's weak points and predict where they will move, instead of only concentrating on hitting them. You still need to train your footwork as well, though I suppose it'd be difficult to become considerably more agile in a short amount of time."

Kuroko was somewhat awed by the other's abilities to be able to observe him while fending off all the monsters he'd been fighting. He'd had so much difficulty without paying attention to his surroundings and only focusing on trying not to die.

The redhead crossed his arms and continued,"I suppose the largest problem is your stamina. The fighting only becomes more demanding with time, and your endurance seems to be lacking."

Well that one, Kuroko knew.

"I will keep it in mind. Thank you for your advice."

"There's no need for gratitude yet. You can thank me later, when you've improved under this guidance."

The man who had spoken those words now stood in front of the Cleric, hand outstretched in his direction.

The blue-haired man's pale hand reached up and grabbed it. He was surprised when the other pulled him up with ease. Akashi's appearance betrayed his strength and Kuroko was almost sure he might've been hacking by now.

After being put upright though, he was putting most of his effort into staying like that, despite his protesting, wobbly knees.

"I don't suppose we'll be able to train any further this night, seeing as though you seem to be recovering slowly from our last session and it's getting rather late. May I inquire if you have time to meet in the early evening tomorrow?"

The bluenette didn't have to think about his schedule. Saturdays for him were uneventful besides sometimes having work in the afternoon.

"Yes. Is it something important?"

"I want to call a guild meeting and I am hopeful all our members can attend–I've informed them all earlier today. It will be around twelve in the central city."

"Ah, I see. In that case, I will be there."

"Good. But for now Tetsuya, I suggest you rest. I assume you are tired seeing as your heart rate has barely slowed down and your breathing is still quite rapid. Since it is all your mental state, you may find yourself somewhat… disoriented in the real world, though the feeling will go away after a few minutes."

The Elf had already opened the functions window after his first few words; he nodded to let the other know he paid heed to the last.

"Goodbye for now, Akashi-kun."

"Take care, Tetsuya."

His index finger pressed the "log-out" button, and he waited a second before the world started to disappear, replaced by the image of the pillows on the side of his bed.

His first reaction after getting out was to run to the bathroom in a disorderly fashion, trying his best not to throw up on the carpeted floor of the hallway on the way there.

He reached it the small space with utmost difficulty and immediately heaved into the toilet basin with zero grace (not that it was really possible to puke elegantly).

Takao walked in the next minute, having heard the commotion from the kitchen which neighbored the bathroom.

"Woah! Tet-chan are you all right? Did some bastard get you pregnant? I'll kill him!"

"Takao-kun, it's not possible for men to get pre–", he was interrupted by another wave of nausea and stuck his face back into the bowl.

"Just kidding, Tet-chan. I'm guessing you just got out of the game too? Don't worry, the dizziness and stuff will go away in a few minutes. Next time, don't push yourself too hard, 'kay?", the raven said, this time letting some concern show as he gently patted the smaller man's back until he finished emptying out his stomach.

"The same thing happened to me a couple of times in the past. I guess maybe cause you're not used to playing games like this and _KWO _is really realistic. After so many years of playing other games I've built up a pretty strong resistance to it though."

He handed the blue-haired man a glass of water he had brought with him after he had heard the other starting to retch.

The pale man accepted the cup graciously, mumbling a quick "thank you" before rinsing out his mouth and taking a few small sips.

"No problem, Tet-chan. Just try not to do this again, it's not good for you."

Despite the fact he was still joking like usual, he could see the other was still worried about him. The bluenette gave the other a slight smile and one of his usual retorts to let the other know he was feeling better. "All you do is eat kimchi and play _Kiseki World", _he said with a blank stare.

"So mean! That's not all I do! I also sleep, watch T.V., and stalk hot guys!", the other declared proudly.

They both laughed at that statement, Kuroko lightly and Takao cracking up and practically guffawing at his own hilarity.

Kuroko, now back to his usual state besides the taste of vomit in his mouth, hoisted himself up with the help of the bathroom counter and his housemate.

He cleaned his teeth and tongue of the disgusting taste and the two left for the kitchen as Takao had been interrupted during his meal and the bluenette's stomach was now void of matter. They exited, turned off the lights, and left the toilet to automatically flush its contents down the drain.

* * *

The next day before noon, Kuroko once again arrived in _Medias_. He sat at one of the many fountains situated at the corner of the town square, where he could linger quietly until someone else announced their arrival via message. He himself had already sent one, and had gotten a reply from Aomine and Momoi.

Since Akashi had called for this meeting, he supposed all the members of the guild would be coming–either by having the free time or clearing their schedules. It wasn't a problem for him though. The kindergarten was closed on the weekends and he didn't have to work at the convenience store until the afternoon.

The Cleric looked around him, and noticed for some reason there was a strange influx of female players.

It wasn't that a lot of females didn't play _Kiseki World_, it's just that the number was still a lot smaller in comparison to the amount of men. According to some research, the ratio was close to about four men for every one woman.

But strangely, this number seemed to be reversed today.

"Why are there so many chicks here today?"

"You haven't heard?! A famous model started playing today and he might reach this island!"

"Really? Girl or guy? Is it Nagi-tan?"

"No, you pervert, get this! It's Ki-"

The bluenette's attention towards the conversation of the couple standing in front of him was cut off by a small "_ping!", _signifying a group message.

_Midorima 04/28/38 11:36*  
Close message index.*  
_  
_**.**  
_  
_**Midorima 04/28/38 11:36***__  
Close message index.*_  
**_.  
_**  
_"I just arrived. Is anyone else here yet?"_

Just as he read the message, the Archer came into view and after looking around, decided to sit down coincidentally and unknowingly next to the smaller man.

"Hello, Midorima-kun", the smaller male greeted.

The other jumped in surprise.

"K-Kuroko?! Since when have you been here?"

"I've been here this entire time. You sat next to me."

The green-haired man cleared his throat. "Is anyone else here yet?", he asked, pushing up his glasses with one hand.

"No. We are both a bit early, but Momoi-san and Aomine-kun are on their way."

The bespectacled man made a a throaty grunt-like noise in response.

The two sat in silence, both awkwardly doing nothing but staring into the spaces in front of them–occasionally to each other or the ground, but mostly into space.

The bluenette racked his mind for a subject of conversation as it felt very uncomfortable sitting next to the Archer like this. There were some things he'd actually been curious about though.

"Midorima-kun, why do you always bandage your hand?"

It took the other moment to respond as he hadn't been expecting the other man to talk."It's a habit from real life. I do everything humanely possible to ensure my shots won't miss."

"I was unaware this game even sold items like this."

"They're a passive heal item you can get in exchange for Mira."

"I see", was the only thing Kuroko felt like he could say. Another conversation that ended too quickly.

He thought until he found another subject to bring up.

"Are you a fan of horoscopes?", the bluenette asked, recalling the day prior when Midorima had brought it up.

"Yes. And you are an Aquarius, correct?"

The smaller man nodded, confirming the question.

His glasses seemed to have glinted as he once again pushed them up with one hand, despite the fact they were sitting under the shade of a large tree. "For an Aquarius, today's lucky item is a milkshake. It's quite fortunate that you can get them here in the game. So far, none of mine have been available", the green-haired man informed him with a prideful tone.

"I've never drank one before."

"Do you not eat fast food?" The other inquired.

"I have before, but I generally try to cook or just eat pre-made convenience store food."

"Hmm. This time you sound more like an old man than a middle-schooler."

Kuroko felt a bit offended. Sure at 5'6 (5'5 in the game) he was short for his age as a grown man, but people usually didn't go so far as to say middle school. At least a high school first year, from his experiences.

"That is quite insulting."

"I find no remorse in stating a fact."

"..."

_He is hard to get along with._

Another chat was cut short, and the two went back to what they were doing before they started talking–nothing. Until Kuroko got bored and opened up an internet window. Next to him, the bespectacled man was doing the same.

He continued reading a novel from where he'd left off last, pressing a button to materialize the data into a virtual hardcover.

Midorima happened to glance over from his screen, and his eyes settled on the title of Kuroko's book.

"Ah, I read that book. It's a good author. Your taste isn't too bad."

Light blue eyes peered up at the taller man's face before the mouth opened to reply, "She is quite good. I especially enjoy the main character's views on social segregation."

"Especially in chapter nine", the Archer said, nodding to himself.

And thus, the two finally found something to converse on for the next fifteen minutes.

Afterwards, Aomine and Momoi found them.

"Yo, Tetsu! Midorima!" the tanned-skinned man yelled to them, waving excitedly.

"Hello, Aomine-kun."

The shorter blue-haired man spent some time trying to balance his conversation with Midorima while listening to the details of the just-arrived Warrior's day, as well as his subtle rants about his pink-haired companion. The Rogue, or Spy actually, in turn smacked him with the sandal she was wearing.

Just a few minutes more and the guild's largest member, Murasakibara, walked lazily toward them with some umaibou hanging from his mouth. One of his hands ruffled Kuroko's hair. "Aka-chin says he'll be here in five minutes", he said, bits of food dropping to the floor and partially on sky-blue locks.

"Murasakibara-kun, you shouldn't talk while chewing", the smaller said, swatting the crumbs out.

The purple-haired giant responded with a drawn out, "haaai", and resumed eating in silence and petting the other who was found the action somewhat annoying.

Finally, when the clock struck twelve–as if it were some strange reverse-Cinderella story–Akashi appeared from behind a black haze; a dimensional gate. Kuroko could only guess what was on the other side.

"I'm glad to see you're all here, well, besides Shougo. I suppose we can have this meeting without him though. I would like to take some time to discuss the future prospects and expectations of this guild. But first, shall we find somewhere to sit comfortably?"

"Aka-chin, can we go to Maji Burger?"

"As long as there are no objections", a sharp look was sent towards the remaining members of the guild. The bluenette supposed their leader doted on the younger man.

They walked into the town, maneuvering through a few of the buildings before settling at a small, modern-looking fast food place that looked very strange in comparison to the game's medieval feel.

The six of them crammed into a large booth and shifted into comfortable positions.

"So," the redhead began, "shall we start?"

Aomine looked toward the menu. "Can we do it after food?"

The pinkette sitting at his side chided him for asking.

Akashi let out a very slight sigh, though not one of irritation. More like acquiescence with humor in regards to the Warrior's question. He sat back into the soft booth bench before saying with an inkling of a smile on his lips, "All right, after food."

Aomine and Murasakibara cheered and set to ordering from the menu built into the table.

"Kuroko."

"Yes?"

The tips of the Archer's ears looked slightly reddened when he pushed up his glasses said, "Since it's your lucky item of the day, I'll treat you to a milkshake."

Since earlier when they'd discussed literature, probably one of the few things they had common interest in, at one point their opinions of each other might have raised.

The blue-haired man gave a slight bow of his head to the other.

"Thank you, Midorima-kun."

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Elements (pt. 2)_

_As mentioned previously, some elements don't mix with each other. Each of the eight basic elements has an opposite. Let's say a person chooses the Electric element as their first. If they chose Plant magic next, it'd be much weaker in comparison and only a fraction of the skills would be available for learning. Both elements also become weaker by about a fourth, so mixing opposites isn't recommended unless a person has a special weapon or skill as an in-between._

_Players can, however, learn as many elements as they wish. While doing this would give them a great variety, they would usually have difficulty choosing spells in such an arrangement. _

_By the way, the other opposites include Water and Fire, Earth and Air, and Dark and Light. Each element has a very slight weakness or strength toward others, but that can be further explained later._

* * *

I like writing nice!GoM. It is very enjoyable~ I hope my characterizations aren't seen as too OOC in comparison to the originals~

And once again, this will indeed be KiKuro. I re-read this and it feels like I'm hinting at everything but that. XD

I think I've written this back to a few people, but this story is so much longer than I expected it'd turn out. When I first came up with the idea, it was only gonna be like, twenty chapters. And now, here we are and we haven't even completed the guild yet. Also, like some people had first thought, Kuroko was actually gonna be an Assassin or something along those lines. Midorima was supposed to be the Cleric and Akashi was gonna be a Warrior too. Everything else was the same though~

Anyways, that's it for this chapter. Next, as a small spoiler, we get to see Kuroko drink his first milkshake.

By the way, I answer to all reviews now, except if I accidentally skip over yours and miss it (in that case, I'm sorry and you have the right to internet-smack me a couple times). The reader's questions sometimes help me fill up plot holes or add new, little details to the story~

Once again, thank you for reading~


	15. Chapter 14: Meeting (2) & Beginning

Hey, how r'ya doin'? It's me again. A-huh. That's right. GPS.

I'm gonna deviate from that somewhat pedo-like introduction to say: Welcome back to another chapter of _KWO_.

As it's been for the past two weeks, this chapter is betaed by Hayasaka Shion-san. Thanks to her, you don't have to deal with all my little funky mistakes.

Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure the creator of KnB wouldn't be writing AU fanfiction about it... just in case though, Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me~

* * *

Chapter 14: Meeting (2) & Beginning

* * *

Kuroko was _glowing_.

There was really no other way to describe it.

His guild members watched in confusionand mild fascination as his usually stoic self started to emanate an aura of content and bliss. Though his expression looked nearly the same, the corners of his lips were upturned just the slightest, and he had bits of wonder shining through his slightly widened eyes.

_All_ because of a vanilla milkshake.

"Midorima-kun… this… this is amazing", the bluenette exhaled after having taken a long sip of the sweet confection, then going back for another.

"Ahem," Akashi cleared his throat. "Since our food has arrived, I believe we should begin discussing about what I've called you all here for."

The bluenette detached his lips (albeit reluctantly) from the straw and glanced up towards the redhead, who was looking them over with his sharp gaze, arms folded across each other as usual.

"Have you yet become aware of the Winter Cup?"

From the questioning look they gave each other, it seemed neither of the blue-haired men did. Momoi, with all her access and navigational skills of the internet _KWO _forums, looked like she had at least a faint inkling of what he was talking about.

As for the other two, Murasakibara was focused on scooping spoonfuls of flan into his mouth and Midorima already seemed to know what this meeting would entail. Kuroko wasn't really sure of why a fast food restaurant like this was serving flan as part of the menu, but he decided not to question it even as the green-haired began drinking a bowl of oshiruko to his side.

"The Winter Cup is our main obje-"

The Sorcerer couldn't complete that sentence he was speaking as a loud, "Yo! Sorry I'm late, I was with my woman just now", sounded out. The bluenette's aura of happiness faded.

Haizaki sauntered into the restaurant, lips curved in a slight smirk.

"Shougo, you know I have no tolerance for your tardiness."

"My bad, my bad. She wouldn't let me go, ya know? All of a sudden she kinda jumped me and started sucking my d–"

Momoi gave him a disgusted look and palmed her face, and to Kuroko's side, Midorima did the same, though without the hand part.

"I'd prefer you not talk about your personal life," the Archer cut him off. Right now, he could tell Akashi was less than satisfied with the silver-haired Thief; one of the things he hated most, after all, was defiance to any degree. If the other wasn't an important piece, he'd most likely be either dead or wishing he were–since this was a game, there were no rules against slow torture, after all.

"Sit, Shougo. We are discussing our goals as a guild and it'd benefit us all if you joined."

The Cleric didn't want to subject Momoi to sitting next to the taller man, who gave her chest a not-so-inconspicuous leer, so he ushered Midorima to scoot closer into the booth to make room. The bespectacled man complied, and after a few seconds of scooting and shuffling around, Haizaki was properly seated.

Akashi, only slightly appeased, opened his mouth once more. "As I was saying, our main objective is the Winter Cup. Official details were released when this game first came out, though you probably won't hear much about it until the future. Currently, not many people are interested in it."

He glared at Haizaki, who had stolen Kuroko's milkshake and was slurping it noisily, much to the discontent of the table's occupants. The target of his scrutiny at least had the decency to stop without him having to voice a verbal warning.

"The Winter Cup is a large group tournament that will start somewhere in November and end in either the same month or the succeeding. Only official guilds may join, though there's no limit to how many factions of a single union can participate. There are several amendments we have to make to our party before we can join, as they have rather strict but strange qualifications and rules.

"First of all, as I said, it is a group tournament. Currently, we are missing in need of at least one more member as the bare minimum we can have is eight.

"Second of all, all our levels have to be at least thirty, though the majority of us have already completed that requirement. I would like for us to be at least fifty by the time this tournament comes around. There is no limit though, however, so it may behoove you further if you would like to complete further training.

Finally, as I've said, one of the requirements to join this tournament is to own a guild."

"Huh? Aren't we already a guild?" Aomine asked, swallowing down the remains of a teriyaki burger.

"Dai-chan, there's a difference between being a guild and _owning _one."

"Momoi-san is absolutely right, Daiki. Entering the Winter Cup requires the purchase of a town hall or castle of some sort–which is what I'd like to review next.

As you may or may not know, the purchase of a guild costs a rather considerable amount of ladomi and Guild Points, which is why most groups can't afford one until they reach higher levels or are made up of an vast sea of members."

"How much is it?"

"About ten-million ladomi and five-thousand Guild Points for a simple building, though from there it can be upgraded to several options that each possess different benefits. Currently, we have around three-million in our treasury. As for GP, we have around half of the number we need. I'd like to acquire a guild hall as soon as possible as owning one will give us several useful bonuses. Does anyone have any questions?"

No one in the booth raised an inquiry or objection to his speech, so the Sorcerer smoothly moved on to the next topic in his agenda.

"With the concern of investing in a guild and the interest of gaining combat familiarity, I'd like for us to participate in official group battles every-so-often. We each have our own time constraints and duties to fulfill in the real world, so I propose we clear at least one day a week, much like this one, for activities such as duels or high-level quests that would be difficult to complete alone."

Haizaki groaned. "I have stuff to do, ya know?"

"I am aware, Shougo. My condition was that you would do at least the minimum amount of work in exchange for your terms fulfilled. I intend to fully keep that promise so long as you are compliant."

"Tch."

Akashi stood up from the chair he had been seated on. "That being said, I will arrange for a group battle the next time we are all free, which I assume would be quite easy for this next week."

Kuroko checked him mental calendar. _Today is… the twenty-eighth… next week is Golden Week._

Leave it to the redhead to calculatingly monopolize their free time.

Not that the group seemed to mind though, save for one Haizaki Shougo.

Aomine looked excited at the prospects of finally joining a group battle, unable to contain his happiness, in fact. His hand clenched in anticipation, as if looking for his unequipped sword.

Earlier on, he had said Momoi hadn't wanted to participate in fights like this, but the pinkette seemed rather happy as well. Maybe it was the fact Aomine was happy. Or maybe she secretly just enjoyed fighting.

Perhaps both.

To Kuroko's side, Midorima had a resigned expression accompanied a light sigh, but nevertheless it seemed he wouldn't protest against their guild leader's whims. The Cleric speculated it was rather like Momoi to Aomine, except it was him and Akashi and the reasoning behind the actions were probably different.

And Murasakibara? Well, he just carried on with his food.

"I have set out the basic expectations I have for you. It would be in your best interest to follow them", the Sorcerer said while standing up, "Now, would anyone like to join me for a training session? It would be better to gain experience fighting in a group before dueling against human players."

One-by-one, the members of _Generation of Miracles_ filed out from the booth and stretched their stiff legs; even Haizaki had begrudgingly followed, probably knowing he'd push their leader's buttons and limits if he didn't.

Meanwhile, Kuroko was still silently sulking (even if he didn't look like it) over the loss of his newly-found, creamy, vanilla paradise. As they walked out, Aomine placed a hand on his shoulder and with a bright smile said, "We'll get more food after training, 'kay?"

"If I can move after this."

"Eh, did Akashi made you go through nighttime maps too?"

"Yeah," Kuroko grimaced in remembrance of his mad rush to the bathroom.

Next to him, it seemed the Paladin was having similar thoughts –his spirit seemed to float out, deflated from his sad, grimacing face. The bluenette wasn't exactly sure how to describe it, but the words "zombie" and "constipation" came to mind. Either way, the expression was so ridiculous, Kuroko couldn't help but let out a miniscule smile.

"Well, it's not night and we're in a group, so it probably won't be that bad, right?" The taller of the two question as he recovered from the sad memory.

"I hope so."

Sadly for them, three and a half hours worth of various boss fights was pretty much "that bad".

Kuroko spent the majority of the training session wishing his invisibility worked on monsters, or that Akashi wouldn't keep moving them to stronger bosses each time they defeated the last one. It was getting considerably more difficult to dodge giant feet and horns and freaking boulders being hurled at him, especially because he had to spend so much time running around doing a Cleric's job and attacking weak spots.

Really, when did the redhead get all that time to set up dimensional gates?

Kuroko didn't have time to think about it.

Of course there wouldn't be time when four level 40 bosses surrounded the group at all sides.

He could only struggle to keep up.

* * *

_Thursday: April 26, 2038. 7:23 A.M._

**.**

"_Would__ you like to begin game play?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

**.**

**"**_**Yes**_**"*********  
**_  
__"No"_

**.**

_Wow. It's so beautiful._

This was it. Kise Ryouta's first ever VR gaming experience.

It had cost him a lot of trouble to get his hands on _Kiseki World Online_, but after logging into the game and making a character, it immediately felt like it was worth it.

This man, known as Kise in the real world, was a very popular model at a high point of his career. Ever since his Kindergarten days, he had known he was very good-looking (though he was teased ever so often for it. Before growing up, at least).

It had been between two and three years ago when one of his sisters had suggested he try professional modeling as a job, somewhere when he was in his phase of starting to become an adult and not knowing what he'd wanted to do in life. And so, he had taken her suggestion and tried it out.

In a matter of months, the name "Kise Ryouta" had dominated the popularity charts of the modeling world. His school was swarming with fan girls (and some boys) every day of his second year. Because of that, he had had to transfer multiple times throughout his high school life before finally settling at a high-end private school with high gates and security guards to keep rabid fans out.

Of course, he didn't hate them though. It was actually quite the contrary. He was very much grateful to them and the support he had been given, they were the ones who had boosted him up to that status, after all. Kise was also very much a people-person, and rather liked having the attention directed his way, provided no one tried anything funny on him–it was not a pleasant experience to find out the chocolates you were just given by that cute girl were drugged, or that someone found out a way to sneak naked pictures of themselves into your school locker (both of which have happened multiple times).

After all this time in the spot light though, Kise felt like he needed some time away from the cameras and just do something that was a different kind of exciting.

And that was when he had seen it.

Two days prior he had been surfing _NND_ during a break in one of the modeling studios he often worked at. By chance, he had accidently clicked on a sidebar video labeled, "Fighter's Beginner Tournament, Final Round".

He hadn't known the VR world was so exhilarating, though that might've been because he'd never played one and because _KWO_ had only started up its server recently.

On his phone projection screen was two Warriors, swords clashing and sparks flying at an incredible rate even though they were both less than level 20. One of the men fighting had caught his eye in particular–a blue-haired Warrior with tanned skin.

Kise had been amazed by his fluid yet erratic fighting style, the way he could parry and twist around and use skills and spells so effortlessly, as if he had walked down a road of dueling with long sword in hand his entire life. In those moments, the only things Kise could thing of were, "_Waaah, so cool,"_ and _"That looks fun… I wonder if I could try it–something like that."_

And now, he was.

The first chance he had gotten, which was today, he snuck out of one of his luxury apartments donning a cold mask, a black wig, and some large sunglasses; he didn't want to chance asking his manager to get it for his for fear of being reprimanded. It didn't matter that the store clerk had looked at him suspiciously, or that his glasses had fallen off at one point and he had to hide out in a park's public bathroom for a half hour away from a horde of followers, he had finally gotten it.

_"But still, why are there so many girls up at 4 A.M. in a game center?_" the model couldn't help but think, adding his little habit of saying "_ssu_" at the end of his sentence, even though it was in his mind.

After that, he had caught a cab to Akashi Industries' registration center which was, thankfully, just opened.

"Equip_ {Beginner's Sword}_", he said, gripping the air and letting the dingy little weapon materialize.

The person registering him, a very nice married lady over the age of thirty, happened to be a fan of his, and so she happily granted his the request of pulling a few strings and allowing him to wear a pair of contact lenses he had along with the wig before getting scanned; he hoped it would be enough to trick the in-game fans, at least enough for his to get some time to train. Even though the game didn't have too many females in comparison to the reason world, he really didn't want to take a chance.

Kise was really having fun slashing through his first Slimes.

{+5 Experience}

_{Obtained: Slime Gel, 7 ladomi}*  
_  
After a few levels and sessions of stat input, the blonde–excuse me–raven moved on to another map with some stronger slime creatures.

Kise, for the first time in months, felt… free.

Sure, he did enjoy modeling but it was too constricting and he'd spent a lot of time feeling like a caged animal. Studies in recent years showed most of them _really_ disliked captivity, or at least the ones kept in small containers.

And now, with this bright, shining sun and crisp wind blowing through his now-dark hair (he was amazed it was actually attached to the scalp), he couldn't help but he giddy and excited for what was to come.

_Maybe I'll join a guild–NO–I'll definitely join a guild. Hmm… what class should I choose… That Fighter was really cool, maybe I should be one too. Then again, it kinda makes me feel like a copy-cat._

He would only later know how ironic that last thought was.

_Rogues are pretty cool too. I'd look cool with throwing knives. Or maybe a short sword. Ahhhhhh, choices._

Before he knew it, his auto-piloted mind and body had leveled up to ten. He was happy that he seemed to be a catching on to this fighting thing quite naturally. Then again, he caught on to a lot of things really easily.

The man made his way into the beginner's town, Creialle, to restock on potions, and then he boarded the ferry that would take him to the game's next island; there, he'd be able to change into the class he wanted (though he didn't know exactly what he wanted).

On the ship, he scooted to the farthest corner away from human contact. There were too many potential fan girls–maybe some boys–who could be there by coincidence. And then, even if they didn't know him (he'd learned many gamers weren't interested in the world of idols), there was still the chance they would approach him because of his looks.

_The sea… it's really sparkly here._

The Beginner leaned forward against the ship's railing and stared into the widely stretched expanse of blue, the small Beginner's island fading, and occasionally around him in case someone happened to wander into that part of the ship.

Maybe he was being too paranoid, but it was way too often that others caught him off guard. Like this morning, for example.

_Hmm. I have to go to a modeling session at 9:00. That means I have around an hour before I get picked up. I think I can get to level 13 or 14 at least._

Minutes later, the ship landed and Kise jumped off the side onto the wooden docks. He decided not to ask for directions and instead trusted his instincts, taking him to a large, black stone castle–it really stood out in among the short, drab huts and stands it towered over.

He walked in and was surprised when all the other players disappeared around him. He supposed it was rather a good thing though; this way he didn't have to hide his face or awkward shuffle away from anyone in a five-meter radius.

The unnaturally black-haired man wandered the castle, lost until he finally stumbled across the ballroom at the end of a long corridor. There, he found the first four class changing NPCs.

He clicked through the corny dialogue until he finally got to the selection screen.  
_  
"Please select the class you would like to become."_

_{Fighter}*_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}_

_{Mage}_

**.  
**_Hmmm… I look really good with neck bandanas… plus they're fast…_**  
**_**.**_

_{Fighter}_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}*_

_{Mage}_

_**.**_  
_Should I choose a_ _Warrior instead?_  
_**.**_

_{Fighter}*_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}_

_{Mage}_

_**.**__  
Eh… I think I'll just go with this after all. I could always just remake this if it turns out bad.__**  
.**_

_{Fighter}_

_{Hunter}_

_{Rogue}*_

_{Mage}_

_**.**__  
__{Fighter}_

_{Hunter}_

_**{Rogue}***_

_{Mage}_

_**.**_

"Are you sure you would like to become a _Rogue__?"_

_"Yes"*_

_"No"_

**.**

_**"Yes"***_

_"No"_

_**.**_

_{Kiiro has become a Rogue!}  
__{Kiiro has obtained: Rogue's Tunic, Rogue's Sandals}*__  
_

_Yosh!_

The man could not hold back a wide grin as he practically skipped around the room.

_I'd really like to meet that guy one day… that Aominecchi.  
_

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Guilds (2)_

_In KWO, if a person is not invited to or part of any party, they are automatically in a party with any guild members in the vicinity. Guild member parties can be up to twelve people in most cases. For normal parties, the number can vary anywhere from four to twelve depending on the island or area they are in. There are also certain special maps where a party can have up to twenty members, though those are usually high level bosses or party quests._

_Guild parties receive a higher experience bonus than normal parties. Some benefits a guild can receive when upgrading their guild hall is extra damage when in groups, more EXP and ladomi bonuses, and less damage done to each other in case of friendly fire._

* * *

Kise is indeed using a slightly different name, so it's not a weird typo.I'm bored, so here's some fun facts about this fic:

Every single on of the monsters and their names, along with the cities, and spells are made up on the spot as I type. Also, they're usually based on Latin or Japanese words (sometimes mixed with English) that are skewed to the point that they're barely recognizable. I don't do well with creation.

All the author's notes are written right before I upload these, along with the _KWO_ extras, so my beta doesn't get a chance to go over them, so please excuse any terrible grammar. It's why these notes tend to get really random too.

And anyways, since Kise has appeared, I will tell you now that he is 19-going-on-20.

Anyways, thank you once again for reading. Hope you enjoyed~Criticism (Hopefully constructive), comments, and questions are highly encouraged~


	16. Chapter 15: Group & Spells

(◠-◠)/ Hello people~ Here we are again~

I wish I had more time to type, but unfortunately I have school and work on a shared computer. I really need a laptop or something. /crais

Anyways, this chapter is once again betaed by the lovely Hayasaka Shion-san, so the grammar isn't horrible elementary school stuff 8D

Disclaimer: I'm getting too lazy to do this, but Kuroko no Basuke isn't mine~

* * *

_Chapter 15: Group & Spells_

* * *

_Saturday: April 26, 2038. 8:31 A.M._

"_Please select the weapon you would like to use"._

_{Dagger}*_

_{Throwing Knives}_

_{Knuckle}_

_{Random}_

**.  
**  
_**{Dagger}***_

_{Throwing Knives}_

_{Knuckle}_

_{Random}_

**.  
**  
_{Kiiro has obtained a Dagger!}  
_  
Kise opened up his inventory and equipped the weapon he'd just received.

It was a very average weapon; the brown-eyed man was sure he could buy a better one from the shops in town, though he didn't want to spend the ladomi on it as he didn't have much to start with.

He did, however, buy a very nice neck bandana that matched his gear from the shop. It wasn't only for fashionable purposes–he was also using it to cover his mouth and perhaps be a bit more inconspicuous towards other players. But still, he couldn't totally deny that he just really liked the thin piece of cloth equipment.

The Rogue took quick steps towards the town exit, past the sign, and into the first monster map he could find–all while carefully avoiding any and everyone that he came across.

He located one of the map's monsters, one that slightly resembled a wild pig of some sort, and started to approach it.

The black-haired man broke into a dash, enjoying the AGT boosts being a Rogue gave to a player.

The beast couldn't react quick enough to dodge the blade pointed towards it, resulting in a shallow gash forming across the majority of its right side. Kise would've liked to cut deeper, but he was still getting used to this weapon and learning how much strength to use.

_[-114 HP, Porruca: {86/200}]  
_  
Like many other monsters of this level, this one had no other attacks other than biting or tackling, the latter of which it attempted on Kise.

The low-level monster started out in a run which, when compared to a Rogue player like Kise, was pretty impossible _not_ to dodge.

As it ran towards him, he took a step back to let it run past and then stabbed it from behind.

_{+48 Experience}  
{Kiiro has obtained: Porruca Snout, 53 ladomi}  
_  
The raven continued to progress his experience like this, getting up to level 13 before the world around him suddenly disappeared. In an instant, the pig creatures in the field disappeared, and were instead replaced by the sight of Kise's very angry manager.

"I've been waiting in the lobby for half an hour. I told you to be ready by nine!" she roared, taking her finger off the "Safe-eject" button underneath the VR helmet. "Hurry up, idiot! The shoot starts in twenty minutes!"

The blonde flinched at her angry tone and meekly apologized, taking off the helmet and hastily readying his bag of personal items: sunglasses? Check. Cell phone? Check. Keys? Check.

He followed her out the door and down the large glass elevator to her car. Kise cursed himself for not keeping track of the time; things like this had happened before, and he was not looking forward to the session of lunatic, demented method of "_driving_" that his manager would soon demonstrate.

The woman loudly revved up the engine of her car, even though it was electric and the feature seemed to serve no actual purpose but to scare Kise shitless.

_"Saaaaave meeee…."_

Sadly, both his thoughts and his cries of terror were left unheard by all except for those within the boundaries of the soundproof glass.

* * *

_Saturday: April 28, 2038. 3:04 P.M._

"Akashi-kun… I think I'm dying…"

"I'll assume you only mean figuratively; we wouldn't want you putting this training to waste. Perhaps my expectations for this exercise were too much for you, even if you aren't fighting in the front lines. I'll make a gate back to town for everyone, but at the very least-"

Akashi put his hand out behind him.

"-Help finish with this wave."

Without even sparing a glance, he sent out several manifestations of magic energy from his hand and obliterated the monsters at his rear, leaving only burnt bodies that quickly dispersed a second later.

_How does he do that?_

"I'll do… my best."

Teetering on unstable legs, Kuroko just barely managed to dodge what looked to be a piece of a flying tree trunk. He stumbled, but managed to keep himself upright and moving in order to assist his fellow party members.

At the current moment, he and the rest of the _GoM _were fighting three level 40 bosses, each of a different element. Together, they had already managed to kill one of them and were steadily lowering the HP of the remaining trio.

Kuroko chanted a healing spell towards Murasakibara, who, assisted by Midorima, was fending off one of the beasts. The purple-haired man was certainly the best choice for it though, seeing as the monster–a very offensive-based electric boss–had the highest ATK of the three.

In the previous weeks, he had obtained a rare item after winning a Fighter's tournament in _Verran_, a defensive piece of equipment dubbed the "_Shield of Aegis". _Though it wasn't a unique item, it was probably one of the closest things to it.

Momoi had studied all their equipment and told them what to buy or get next in order to optimize their full fighting capabilities, and, during a run-through of the forums, had found that two other safeguards just like the one Murasakibara possessed had existed in Japan. One of them, however, had been transferred to the English server of _Kiseki World_, and the other was encountered by a female Gunslinger who'd sold it to the NPCs; she immensely regretted it later after finding out how rare of an item it was.

The _Shield of Aegis_ was extremely heavy, and was generally only equippable by Warrior class players due to the insane amount of STR needed to carry it (items had a certain "weight" in this game and stats were needed to be able to equip them).

The shield was rather impressive though; it tripled Murasakibara's guard just by having it equipped, but when an attack hit the shield itself, the block rate would raise to about double of that. As the Berserker already had a formidable amount of DEF, both monsters and people could barely affect him unless they were extremely powerful.

Besides this, another function of the item was a small blowback rate. It wasn't much, but because the monster in front of him had high ATK power and low defense, it was doing quite a number to it.

At the beginning of their training session, Kuroko had been curious about why the purple-haired man was barely using his sword. His answer was simply, "Aka-chin told me not to."

Later on, the Cleric realized it was because the major level and strength differences between the guild members.

Out of the seven, the person was the lowest level was Momoi at 32, mostly because she had trained with the rest of the guild just like Kuroko had. With the exception of Haizaki since most of the time he spent near her was used on flirting.

After the pinkette, the second lowest was Kuroko–level 33 and close to 34. The rest of the _Generation of Miracles_ were a few levels above him due to their overwhelming capabilities.

When ordered from lowest to highest, the hierarchy was: Midorima along with Haizaki at 36, Murasakibara at 38, Aomine who was 39, and then Akashi who had just reached level 40.

Though these numbers don't seem too far apart, even going up one level made a huge difference in the amount of EXP one had to earn in order to do it again. By the time one reached the thirties, it was exponentially greater than what it was at, for example, fifteen.

It made sense that their Archer, Beserker, and Sorcerer were such high levels, seeing as though they'd started the game about three weeks before the rest of them (though they spent a lot of it unsuccessfully looking for recruits). Haizaki had started about two weeks after they did though, and Aomine only a few days ago.

Kuroko mused about how much the tan Warrior must love this game. Then again, he too was infatuated with just about everything in the game–except for, well, the experience of throwing up from over-training.

But anyways, going back to the reason Akashi didn't want Murasakibara to use his sword: he wanted their lower level members (particularly Kuroko and Momoi) to be able to get more experience and level up faster.

The red-haired Elf himself was holding back, only attacking when needed. A handicap had also been placed upon Aomine, who was mostly blocking attacks and distracting one of the Boss monsters so that it wouldn't go after Momoi or one of their other members.

Kuroko spent a lot of his time casting offensive spells rather than doing what Clerics usually did, which is to say, support. The time he actually spent healing his teammates wasn't very much, so he could concentrate very well on chanting the worlds to his strongest spells with very little interruption.

After raising Murasakibara's HP to full capacity, he went to heal Aomine, who was taking considerably more damage than the Beserker seeing as though he had to dodge and block Magic attacks without the use of a powerful shield. Even if the Paladin was strong and agile, it was still nearly impossible for him to dodge the wide-ranged AOE's that the monster he was fighting could initiate without warning. In addition to this, he was a Fighter type, meaning his Magic DEF was, like most Warriors, very low.

Momoi, on the other hand, could dodge the spells the majority of the time due to the fact she had studied its patterns and knew generally when and where to withdraw. Even if she wasn't too strong, she had the advantage of being able to think critically and could act on it with precision. Also, because she wasn't fighting it head on, the monster couldn't target her or the area in which she stood.

Kuroko started casting one of his highest leveled spells, even though he was out of breath and the words could only be whispered out breathily. After this, the monster he'd targeted would probably die, seeing as though it had already been weakened by his team mates.

_"-ifice. The unholy incarnations fall upon this cursed world, and black shades will be unleashed upon thy adversaries. What is left behind after persecution is merely the cries of the forgotten and damned."_

After an entire three minutes or so of phrases like this, the spell was released towards the monster Haizaki had been sparring with (along with occasional assistance by their heterochromatic-eyed leader). Upon seeing the dark shapes form above the monster, the grey-haired man backed away from the area–though not before one more stab to its leg and knife in its throat.

The monster, a plant type Boss, was the weakest of the three from what they'd seen. Not to say that it wasn't strong–it was.

The next moment, Kuroko's spell took occurrence. Several Magic circles appeared from the shadowy clouds, one large one hovering above it and four smaller ones at its side. An invisible cage trapped the monster in, leaving it roaring and trying to break free from its confines.

From the circles appeared an indefinite amount of obscure wisps, surrounding and circling it, taking its HP lower and lower as they made contact with the monster's skin.

At the end of its time in the intangible prison of which it had been subjected, the rest of the 16k of HP the monster had left vanished. Kuroko's spell could have done a bit more, but that was all the creature had. It was especially weak against Magic spells as it was a STR based monster with only an average amount of DEF towards those kinds of attacks, at least for a level 40 Boss.

The Cleric, now unable to hold himself up, collapsed onto the rocked covered ground. He pushed off the ground with his hands, willing himself to get back up and continue fighting even though he had exhausted himself beyond even the training he'd done the day before. Eventually, by pushing off it with his staff, he raised himself once more.

The monster that he'd killed with his spell didn't disappear into an image of pixels like most did. This spell was, among others, one of the new types that the bluenette had consulted Akashi about; there were still several he hadn't tried yet though. Earlier, when he had asked about whether or not to place points into it (it was more than one since this spell was special), the redhead had smiled a seemingly-knowing smirk and told Kuroko it was up to him.

The first time he had tested it out, he was surprised by how long the cast time for it was (since he was getting used to the words, it was around five minutes). The damage was very high though, and brought the HP of a boss he was fighting down about halfway (though that was earlier with a weaker Boss).

All-in-all, it didn't seem too worth it to use the attack because of the long cast time since he could do more damage with his other spells. After that boss was defeated though, Akashi had studied his skill and told him to use it again, though only when it cooled down (this spell could currently only be cast once every hour-and-a-half) and when the monster had lower HP.

Kuroko had complied, and the outcome surprised not only him, but his party as well. Except for Akashi and, possibly Murasakibara, though he couldn't tell with the snack-loving giant since he had an apathetic nature towards nearly everything besides a few obvious articles of interest.

What had happened then was happening now to the creature he'd just killed. Its body, which lay limp on the ground, started to become to a dark shade of grayish-green from its previous lime theme.

It twitched.

Then it twitched again.

Like a baby deer on unsteady legs or Kuroko in the state he was in now, the monster slowly got back up. When Kuroko checked, its status indicator located above it changed from a monster's color, red, to that of an adventurer's familiar, blue.

_"Pandora's Box."_

That was the name of this spell.

If it is the killing blow, the spell's caster would be able to use the aforementioned monster as their familiar, though it becomes weaker than before. It only worked on monsters and was good for cases such as this where there were multiple bosses fighting. Sadly, the controlled monster couldn't be used permanently; it would disappear when its master left the map, a certain amount of time elapsed, or if it died–it couldn't be healed.

The possessed plant monster charged toward the beast Murasakibara had been defending against and rammed into it, knocking the other onto its back. It took a leap onto the Electric creature and the two grappled, clawing and biting each other at every chance they got.

Kuroko supposed he probably should've done the spell to one of the other two monsters as they were stronger, but he didn't want to wait for their HP to go down. The monster he controlled was now weaker than it was in its original state; it had only about three fourths of its stats from before death. In the battle the two beasts fought, the plant Boss was now clearly starting to lose out.

Kuroko watched for a second before deciding to just leave it. Murasakibara and Midorima could've handled the beast by themselves, but the bluenette decided he might as well have to help them take a breather –something he desperately needed now.

His mind was a bit muddled, and he was sure he wouldn't be able to cast anything other than an instant spell if his scratchy throat was anything to come by. The monster he had previously been watching was now left to AI; before, he could use mental commands to maneuver it if needed be, thanks to the sensory detectors in the VR gear.

A few more buffs towards his guild members and he was done, completely. Luckily for him, his legs gave way at just the right moment to avoid an oncoming tackle by a minion monster one of the bosses had summoned.

A fireball burned through it right after.

"My apologies, Tetsuya. I seemed to have left one slip by."

Kuroko could only give a dry cough as a response.

The Sorcerer sent a few flares towards the direction of the monster Aomine and Momoi had been fighting earlier, catching their attention.

"Daiki, would you mind carrying Tetsuya back into town? We'll finish up here" The red-haired man asked and said before chanting out the words to a dimensional spell.

The taller blue-haired man left the Boss to Momoi and Haizaki and walked over to where the two Magic users were.

Kuroko tried to prop himself up once more, but all the strength had really left his body after that last session of casting.

Aomine, seeing that the blue-haired Elf was too tired to move, bent down and slung the Cleric over his shoulder. He waited a few seconds for the gate back to the main town to open and walked through, all while Kuroko felt as if he were a bag of potatoes.

"You're really light, Tetsu. Maybe it's 'cause you're so short."

Though Kuroko was tired, he still somehow found the energy to elbow the other's back.

Hard.

"Oww. That hurt. I'm tired too, you know?"

"But still lively enough to insult my height."

"I'll try to remember not to from now on," the Fighter chuckled at the other's sensitivity to stature. But still, even if Kuroko had low STR, that jab really hurt.

The two walked into the pitch black void and waited for the central town to come into their sights. When it did, Aomine flipped Kuroko over and placed him on a bench beneath some trees.

"Thank you," the smaller bluenette said after regaining some air in his lungs.

"Hmm? Oh, no problem."

The Paladin whistled to himself. "Why've there been so many chicks lately? Ah, she has big boobs."

"..."

"What? Boobs are made of dreams. Admit it, even you'd like to shove your face int-"

"I'd appreciate if you did not finish that sentence."

* * *

I'm sorry for slow progress~ There's just some details I don't wanna skip and have to cram in later~

On another note, it's time for some shameless advertising. I recently started what will become a collection of AU stories called, "Hey, You". There's one chapter so far and it's KiKuro, so if anyone likes that ship then I'd appreciate if you gave it a chance. And no, not all the stories will be written with my OTPs from here (though some of them will). The pairing are unset and I was thinking of taking requests after I got done with the ones I wanted to write.

Don't worry though, updates for that won't get in the way of this. This takes precedence so the updates will be as always (once or twice a week).

Thanks again for reading~

GPS, out.


	17. Chapter 16: Blue & Yellow

Hello~ GPS in the house. Ironically, I'm directionally challenged, even though GPS doesn't stand for what you'd initially think it does.

This chapter was a little later than I intended, but I hope you guys are happy with it~

It's the longest chapter I've written, about 1.5K more than usual XD

Also, These next 2-3 weeks are gonna be really busy for me because of finals and last-minute homework rushes. If I can get the next chapter out next Sunday, I will. If not, you know what happened.

Disclaimer: Me no own.

* * *

Chapter 16: Blue & Yellow

* * *

_Monday: April 30, 2038. 2:54 P.M._

Today was the last public work day (at least for Kuroko) before the start of the wonderful set of holidays known as Golden Week.

At the current moment, the college student was at the Kindergarten, helping clean up after a particularly messy session of finger painting. Several of the boys and girls had gotten it in their hair and on their clothes, not to mention just about every piece of furniture in the room; luckily for the learning center's owners, the paint was easily washed away with water.

Somehow, even Kuroko–with all his lack of presence–hadn't gotten out unscathed. His face and arms still had small, colorful handprints plastered all around that he hadn't had the chance to wash off. It was a good thing he was wearing an apron though, otherwise it could've turned out a lot worse.

Now that the day was nearing the afternoon, many of the children had already been picked up. The rest–who had all gathered in the Sunflower classroom–were running around with little rags and spray bottles. Whether they were actually helping or not, the bluenette wasn't really sure.

In the middle of his endeavors, the Kindergarten's doorbell rang, so Kuroko put down his paint-drenched cloth and went to answer it. As he walked down the hall, several children ran in front of him to reach it first.

One of the children grabbed the door handle and twisted it open, smiling and laughing that he was the fastest and had gotten there first. After doing so though, his grin faded. The rest of the children who had ran after him looked either shocked or scared at what they saw; some even started to tear up and scream as they ran to Kuroko's side.

The opened door revealed a tall man with a scowling face which quickly turned flustered after making the children run away. Sadly, the college student couldn't yet pay heed to him as he was busy calming down the hysterical little figures crowding him.

After hearing the commotion, Yamada walked out of the Hydrangea class which he'd been tidying up alone and into the hall.

"Ehh, umm. I'm really sorry about this. I thought this place was closed already," the man gruffly and apologetically said, not sure exactly what to do or how to react at the sight of cowering children.

_This voice… it sounds familiar_…

Looking up, Kuroko's eyes widened as they made contact with another blue pair which hadn't yet noticed him.

Yamada strolled past Kuroko and his group of kindergarteners and said to the man, "You're a bit early. Most of the children don't go home until three-thirty or four, Aomine-kun."

Yes, in all his tanned-skin glory, it was indeed Aomine Daiki of the _Generation of Miracles_ that stood before the apron-clad men.

"Come inside," Yamada ushered, leading the tall man into the Sunflower class. A few more shrieks were heard as Kuroko and his group trailed after–most of them had stopped crying after the shorter blue-haired male had assured them that the other wasn't a bad person.

"Hello, Aomine-kun!" Kanagawa greeted him brightly. "Are you here to go over the final details of your work here?"

The same scowl from earlier appeared on Aomine's face, causing more children to shy away from him.

_"His face seems scarier in real life"_, Kuroko couldn't help but note while consoling two scared girls by patting their backs.

"I'll be going now," one of the other helpers of the Kindergarten said after he finished scraping and wiping dried paint from one of the tabletops. In the room, only the owners, the two blue-haired men, and a handful of children were left.

While the other three adults seemed to be having a serious discussion, the powder bluenette went on with cleaning after he finished getting all of five-year-olds to calm down. From their conversation he heard phrases like "starting next week" and "try not to frown so much".

In the course of the next half hour, the majority of the children had left, and only two remained and were watching cartoons on a holographic screen–a privilege, at least in the kindergarten.

"Ah, since you're here, we'd like you to meet one of our helpers," Kanagawa said in a sing-song voice, "He's very kind and trustworthy, so I'm sure you'll get along nicely."

"Didn't your worker just leave?"

"We have another one today."

"Where? I haven't seen anyone else. Is he in another room?" the tan man asked, confused as his eyes wandered the classroom.

The couple sent each other knowing glances and sly little smiles. "Kuroko-kun," they called to the bluenette, who'd been watching the two children as they sang along to the theme song of the show they were watching.

Kuroko approached the taller bluenette, not stopping until he was at his side. "Hello, Aomine-kun," he deadpanned.

"GAHHH!"

The strangled yell left the other man's throat as he jumped to the side and promptly caught his leg on a bean bag chair, falling backwards over it.

"Tetsu! What are you doing here!?"

"I work here."

"Ah, you two already know each other? That's great then!" Yamada smiled, helping the fallen man up. "Aomine-kun here had volunteered to help at the kindergarten starting next week. He'll be here for a few months, so it's good that he has someone familiar to rely on."

Kanagawa looked at the clock and, after seeing the time, said, "I'm going to go home and take Minoru off mother's hands now. You boys play nice now". With a small kiss to her husband's cheek, she cheerily grabbed her bag and exited the room.

"So, why are you here?" Kuroko asked the tanned-skin man. In response, Aomine averted his eyes and mumbled something incoherent under his breath.

Yamada laughed. "Aomine-kun is currently training at a police academy, and he's very good at most of the assignments he has there."

Aomine sighed heavily, the grimace creeping back onto his features. "But I'm not good with children, so I'm going to try to get used to them. Apparently my face makes them cry, though, so one of my instructors suggested doing this."

"...Pft."

"You just laughed at me!"

"I am sorry, but that was quite unexpected. As long as you smile at them like you do online, I'm sure you'd be fine."

"I feel more comfortable in VR's–where there are no brats running around."

Kuroko gave a slightly disapproving expression, though it still looked like his usual poker face. "While you're here, you are not allowed to call them 'brats'. Also, you cannot talk about women's breasts or use any other obscene language."

"I know! I'm not stupid enough to do that!"

"I believe you are the type of person who would not do such a thing", Kuroko said, giving a visible, warm smile. Then the aura behind him turned black and seemed to become the epitome of misfortune and suffering when he added icily, "but if you do, even by accident, I will not hesitate to show you no mercy."

The taller man stiffened as he mentally felt the air chill to below zero. "You're seriously scary sometimes, Tetsu."

"That's the point."

After that death threat aura faded and the warmth returned to the room, the three men began to talk about the rules of the Kindergarten and methods the other could use in order to be less intimidating toward the kids.

A while later, a parent of one of the children walked into pick up her four-year-old. The other remaining little girl was also taken home by the lady too–her guardians couldn't make it and had asked the woman to pick her up because they lived in the same neighborhood.

Yamada stretched out at his desk and told Kuroko, "You can both go home now. I can close up after I finish up with scheduling next week's activities."

"Hm. Thank you, Yamada-san. I will see you next week then", the bluenette bowed politely and exited the room, Aomine trailing after.

"Come to think of it, we don't talk about our personal lives out of the game much, do we?" Aomine questioned. "I was really surprised when you came out of nowhere. At first I thought your invisibility was just an in-game skill."

"It seems many people would find it hard to believe, but it's been like this since middle school."

"Ehh? Seriously?"

"Yes. It is very inconvenient."

For a while, Aomine looked to be deep in contemplation before he asked, "so, have you ever snuck into the girl's locker room an–GAUHH!" He was unable to finish his sentence when Kuroko's fingers jabbed painfully at his rib cage.

As he keeled over, he cried, "I don't have DEF here you know! I didn't realize at first, but you're even more violent than Satsuki, it really hurts!"

"I will take that as a compliment," Kuroko said, reaching out a hand to the other. Quick as a wink, Aomine pulled him down and jabbed him back, making him groan a little at the pain in his abdomen.

The two men sat on the dirty sidewalk for a few minutes, stomachs in pain; they shared a laugh and a smile and, when it stopped hurting, helped each other up and continued on.

As they got off the grounds of the small facility, Aomine asked if Kuroko wanted to go get some food with him. The smaller man accepted the other's proposal and followed him to a fast food restaurant that looked almost familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it at first.

It took him a few seconds staring at it before he realized:

"Aomine-kun, is this… ?"

"Yep. it's Maji Burger. The one in the game is based off the restaurant chain in real life."

"Do they have-"

"Yes, they still have milkshakes."

When the smaller man disappeared, it took Aomine about a minute to find out that he'd already gone inside and ran to the line.

He chuckled as he pushed open the glass doors.

* * *

_Monday: April 30, 2038. 2:54 P.M._

Akashi sat on a stone bench in _Medias_, watching a replay of some of the training the guild had done two days prior. The video was taken by Momoi since Spies were the only class that had a skill which could record at a wide range for an extended period of time. Others could have short clips unless they were spectators, though most people wouldn't use these kinds of skills on monster maps.

The day prior, Midorima and Momoi had helped with analyzing their fighting styles and created what they believed to be the most efficient training regiments for their members. Akashi admired the fact that the pinkette had such extensive knowledge of the game when she'd only been playing for a week.

He acknowledged her, but he still called her "Momoi-san" due to the fact he was a gentleman; gentlemen didn't just call women they'd just met by their first names.

But I digress.

Currently, the projection in front of the Sorcerer Elf was a long clip of the _GoM_ fighting with the four boss monsters from last Saturday. His studies, partially mixed with feedback from Momoi's, came out to the following conclusions:

_Atsushi's weakness is that he fights using mostly brute strength. It would be better if he grew more resistance to magic attacks, otherwise he'll die in one hit to any high-level skill that doesn't hit his shield. For the time being, it'll be more advantageous if his fighting style remains passive._

_Daiki needs to fight using his head more. After the monster used the same pattern so many times, he should have been able to predict when it would have attacked. Although his DEF is low, his speed,power, and technique are greater than I would've expected, so he has no problems with that._

_I have to teach him how to use that weapon quickly though, before it disappears. It doesn't seem he'd be able to figure it out himself._

_Momoi-san is only of average speed and strength, but she is exceptional at strategic ploys and analytical observations. Her applications of skills are also admirable, and her social prowess will come in handy in the future. _

_Shougo is adept at using his weapon, but he sometimes over-uses his skills on other players. I'm worried about his behavior towards the other members, and he is not showing any signs of reforming himself. If this goes on, it will cause trouble for the guild as a whole._

_Shintarou, as great as his skills are in just about every aspect, has too much pride. Unless he takes chances with his shooting and abandons his ego, the chances that he will be defeated grow almost exponentially. He also needs to learn to work better with the other members and rely on them._

_As for Tetsuya… all his stats besides his magic power are quite distressing. Right now, if he were to fight in a group battle, his misdirection would probably run out in a matter of minutes–it may be difficult for him to hone it further. He would merely become a glass cannon in the event that the enemy would notice him._

_It seems that we are missing something of the utmost importance._

Akashi's dual-colored eyes trailed after the pale bluenette and locked onto his weapon.

_They seem to have modified it in the time I was not working on the project; the Phantom's Staff has not been evolving according to the original plan my group created. As it is now though, Tetsuya's strength does not look like it would pass mine in terms of raw power like it was initially intended to do._

The redhead closed the window and placed his attention on another he had open. The top of the page read, "_Kiseki World Online Guild Ranking List"_, followed by a number of systematically ranked factions.

Because the _Generation of Miracles_ hadn't yet participated in any group battles or purchased any type of building, they were still low on the list–by pure coincidence, number 613. Akashi supposed Midorima would've called it fate.

The red-haired man sent challenge letters to a number of the listed groups, starting with the ones in a range of about two-hundred spaces since the highest level ones wouldn't have taken such a 'weak' guild seriously–especially one with such a small amount of after doing so, a reply back was sent to the Magic-user by guild called, "Shinkyou".

If Akashi remembered correctly, they were ranked around the upper four-hundreds. He sent another message asking about the time the two guilds could meet. The other party replied, and when they were done, their battle was set to the next day at noon.

The _Shinkyou _guild did not expect in the slightest that they were going to be _destroyed_.

* * *

_Tuesday: May 1, 2038. 11:50 A.M._

"Kyaaaaah! It's Kise Ryouta!"

Kise had only just logged into the game for the day when several fan girls spotted him and began to circle him with dangerous looks in their eyes. He started into a mad dash, hoping to lose them or tire them out sooner or later.

A few days prior, his hair and eyes and turned back to their original color while he had been in the middle of town; needless to say, it did not bode well for the young model. When he had finally gotten to safety that day (after sacrificing a couple of his items as distractions), he had noticed a small message blinking at the side of his person.

_"Sorry Kise-kun, my co-workers found out about the little favor I did, so I had to change everything back to normal. Be safe, try not to get mobbed~"_

The blonde had cried internally as he ran.

And now, the blonde was still crying inside. His speed was superior to the girls following him though, and he lost the majority of them by hopping building-to-building. In about fifteen minutes, he finally lost them by using a morphing spell he had copied from a party he'd joined.

Did I just say copied?

Indeed I did.

The day his hair had turned back to normal wasn't completely terrible for the Rogue–who, in the last few days, had actually become a Bandit.

After he had finished his level 3 class change, he had chosen his weapon by clicking the "Dagger" option once more. A blinking message had appeared before him:

_"{Kise has obtained a unique item!}"_

When he'd checked him inventory and equipped it, a new skill had appeared in his archive. Without even having to read its description, he could pretty much tell what it could do just by its name.

_"{Copy}"_

His weapon, a Living Weapon dubbed, "_Memoria Blade of Gold_", at first had the appearance of a plain dagger not dissimilar from the first he'd received. After training with the item though, it started to change in a way that more matched its title.

After a few levels, the simple handle had become adorned with gold linings on the caramel-brown background, and the blade was lightening in color. By the time the item became level 18, a level below Kise, the weapon's blade started to form a slight curve; it was also becoming a striking white in contrast to the drab gray it'd been previously.

From then on, he had joined a party of passer-bys–all gamers who either didn't know or care about the fact that Kise was a model. He had trained with them a few hours, copying their skills and learning how to use his newly-gained weapon.

Of course, there were limits to the weapon; for one thing, he couldn't copy a skill that exceeded the limits of his stat points.

Thankfully, at level fifteen, a new skill called "_Rearrange"_ had become available in his archive. Because of it, the Blonde Bandit could copy the spells and skills of players multiple levels above him–as long as his stats were shifted in into the right categories at the right times. The ability did have a cool down time though, meaning he could only use the skills of one class at a time unless he wanted to sacrifice power.

Another boundary was the amount of skills Kise could copy. While his weapon seemed to be able to imitate an endless amount of them, he only had a certain number of slots. Because of that, he decided not to upgrade his class any further than he already had.

Finally, Kise had to be able to see the skill he was attempting to copy. If it was a non-instant spell, he would have needed to hear its chant. If it was a quick weapon skill, he would need to be observant enough to record the image into his mind. The mental strain was actually quite taxing if he wanted to learn something high-level.

And now, here he was, transformed into the appearance of a monster that resembled a large lizard. He decided to find shelter before the transformation time ran out, so he made his way to the PVP arena where he thought the females (and again, a few males) wouldn't think to look for him.

He was surprised when entering the large building forced him to turn back into his handsome self; luckily for him, the only people who noticed him didn't call attention to his person as he slunk into the shadow of a large pillar.

"What's with these guys?! They're all monsters!"

_That_ was what Kise and several others in the PVP arena lounge heard emanating from one of the holographic panels on the Observation Wall.

The blonde turned his head toward the screens and his mouth fell open. He amplified one of the projections and turned up the volume (a feature private to each player).

There, in the holographic image were both of the Warriors from the video he had watched. In comparison to what he'd seen a week ago, both were even more overwhelming than he remembered. What's more, they were now fighting on the same team!

Underneath the images, a small tag read:

"_Generation of Miracles vs. Shinkyou"  
_

On the screen, Kise counted the members of the guild Aomine and Murasakibara were in as a grand total of six . The opposing guild, however, had more than forty. Even if the members of _Generation of Miracles_ were strong, there was no way they could beat a guild with that many members!

About a minute later, Kise's thought would be proven terribly, terribly wrong.

It wasn't only Aomine that was crushing through his opponents as if they were bugs, the other members of the guild were proving just as powerful and unrelenting.

_But still, Aominecchi is really cool._

There was a red-haired Mage who was dodging every attack from two rivaling Warriors and a few other Magic-users, who were chanting spells at him–from the way his lips were moving, Kise could tell the redhead was casting a spell of his own. With a devious smirk, a gigantic, swirling column of flames shot up and burned through one of the Fighters charging at him; he didn't even stand a chance as his HP fell and he turned to ashes and pixels.

A few paces away, Murasakibara stood lazily, only moving his shield as multiple enemies slashed at him. They managed to get his HP down to about 70% (though they had taken more damage from blowback), but his HP bar suddenly shot back up to full health and they were puzzled as to how and why.

In the next minute, he received a signal from Akashi and began pelting at his attackers with earth-shattering blows.

Literally.

In the back of the arena, a lone Archer stood, firing off arrows that hit their marks with top-notch precision. Some enemies were stuck to the soil, struggling against vines protruding from the ground. Others were simply impaled with the sharp projectiles. Kise noticed that whenever an arrow would sail anywhere close toward the man, it would be deflected or blow up in a darkly-colored explosion.

The guild also had a single female who was handling her small hand knife expertly as she slashed the throats of the other players–more as a psychological factor than for damage. Without even touching the ground, she gracefully flipped from one foe to another and back, more often than not causing them to hit each other in friendly fire. As the Bandit watched, small buff circle enveloped her, and again Kise was confused as to where it came from.

Finally, his eyes landed on the final member he saw.

_This…! It's just like me!_

The person on screen, a silver-haired Human player, was using skills from every class just as Kise had learned to do. Upon closer observation though, both his weapon and his ability were slightly different.

The blonde saw that whenever one of the rivaling guild members would use a skill, the Thief on screen would send it right back to them with extreme force. What was strange, however, was that his opponent's faces would crumple up in despair and shock afterwards, and could seemingly no longer use the spells they had just performed.

The Bandit watched in awe as the other guild was annihilated in a matter of minutes; most of the players in _Shinkyou_ had either been killed or abandoned the battle. From the corner of his eye, a very tall black man appeared, his face contorted in bewilderment at the devastating defeat he'd just tasted. A brown-haired man with a similar expression materialized, and the two could only say things along the lines of, "We shouldn't have underestimated them."

The rest of the members of guild were clearing out the stadium, ashamed that they'd lost to such a small group in such a short amount of time.

A minute later, the group duel was completed. The _Generation of Miracles_ had won without a single death on their record.

Their persons emerged from air, and they began toward the exit. Kise stood awe-struck for a second before chasing them as they started to walk out, overcome by the urge to come into contact with them in any way possible.

"Wait!" the model yelled, catching their attention before he grabbed Aomine's arm.

"Aominecchi, you guys are so cool!"

The Paladin looked puzzled. "…Aomine…cchi…?"

The Elf Sorcerer Kise had seen earlier scrutinized the blonde, along with his dagger.

"My name is Akashi Seijuurou, the leader of this guild. And you… you are Kise Ryouta, correct?"

"Ah yeah, that's me," the blonde smiled brightly and laughed, pointing to himself. The sharp heterochromatic gaze on him seemed to ask him to continue with his reason for approaching them.

"Um, are you recruiting new members?" he asked hopefully, a bit nervous to be in the focus of Akashi's study. The redhead seemed to be contemplating it silently and Kise's hopes were starting to veer into the ground when he didn't get an immediate answer.

A few seconds more and Midorima broke the silence. His head had veered across the lounge and back before he asked, "Where did Kuroko go? He was here just a second ago."

_Kuroko? Who's that? I didn't see anyone else PVPing._

Murasakibara held his bag of potato chips into the empty space in front of it. "Kuro-chin~ Where are you? If you come out, I'll share my snack with you."

"Did he D/C or something?" Momoi wondered outloud.

"Maybe he needed to take a piss or a crap", Haizaki offered, picking his ear idly even though there was nothing there.

Akashi scanned across the room as well, but he too saw no signs of the missing Cleric.

"Tetsu! Where are you? Did you go to buy another milkshake or something?"

"…Ano, I am standing right here."

_Where did he come from!?_

To the rest of the guild members, Kuroko seemingly came out from thin air. His sky-blue eyes stared blankly at the new face. "I have been here the entire time."

Watching this scene unfold, Akashi's lips formed into a discreet and slightly calculating smile. Somehow, his face looked pleased with this event.

"Welcome to the _Generation of Miracles_, Ryouta," he said, opening a window and sending Kise a guild invitation message.

_Huh…? That was easier than I thought…._

_Is it because I'm a model or something?_

_But still… this is a chance I can't let go. I've always been waiting for something like this._

Kise lifted a long, smooth finger in front of the "_yes_" option.

Before he could press it though, Akashi began to introduce the members of the guild one-by-one. A minutes or too later, he finished with the majority of the members, besides the Elf player who'd seemingly just arrived.

The redhead continued on with another sentence, this time with an artful expression full of amusement, though the blonde wasn't exactly sure why he seemed so entertained.

"This man here… ", he had started slowly, motioning toward the pale bluenette with the stoic face, "is Kuroko Tetsuya."

_Is this invisible guy important or something?_

Kise didn't think much of him so far, besides the fact he was almost ghost-like; His hand once again levitated toward the button that would finalize his acceptance into the guild.

"And from this day forward-"

_He looks kinda weak. And short. A high schooler, maybe?_

"-He will be your mentor."

"..."

"…EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?"

_{You have joined the guild, "Generation of Miracles."}_

* * *

_Omake: _

Murasakibara held his bag of chips into the empty space in front of it. Actually, not quite empty.

_Crrrccck. _

Kuroko's face crushed the crunchy pieces of snack food.

_[-571 HP, Kuroko:{4,649/5,220}]_

The Cleric fell back onto the hard ground, clutching his eyes which salt had painfully spilled into.

All he had wanted was a potato chip.

* * *

KITAKORE! Kise is such a precious bby.

I just realized this is the second time I've ended a chapter this way.

Let me tell you a secret of this fic.

04/02/38 is the date _KWO_ was launched. 04/02/38. 42 is the number said to be the answer to the universe and it's existence. 3 is the first chapter Kise appears in in the manga. 8 is his jersey number in Teiko. 3 + 8 is 11 (and we all know what 11 is). I'm sorry. I'm done with myself (though I'll still tell more secrets later on because there's worse stuff.)

I hide a lot of things, lol.

I'm sorry. I hid one in the omake. 4,649. (yo)n, (ro)ro, (shi), (ku)u. Welcome to the _Generation of Miracles_, Kise.

Thank you for reading this, your patience is very much appreciated.


	18. Chapter 17: Mentor & Training

I think I told someone this, but GPS stands for: Gafoogle Pochi Shankerz, so you could call me anything stemmed from that (I've had a lot of nicknames)

I'm sorry this is late ;-; The next one might be too because of the Finals Rush. Afterwards though, I'm happy to say I'll be extremely free for writing 8D Can't wait til the school year's over.

decidecii: why thank you. Here it is.

A Reader: I'm sorry. I have OTP feels that can't be contained. It's too late to change it now though because I have a storyline. Also, MuraAka/ AkaMura is more of a BroTP. 8D

Once again, this was checked over by Hayasaka Shion-san~ Even though afterwards, I always re-edit it. Any mistakes you find here are totally me.

Disclaimer: KnB is not mine. /Pterodactyl fangirl screech

* * *

Chapter 17: Mentor & Training

* * *

Several figures, all with their faces painted over in either disbelief or apprehension, stared dumbly at the redheaded male in front of them.

_What? Me? This guy!?_

"You've got to be kidding me! What do you mean _**he'll**_ be _**my**_ mentor?" Kise protested loudly, an accusatory finger pointed toward the smaller, blue-haired man.

"Have I not make myself clear enough?" The redhead replied, arms folding across each other in a way that conveyed authority; Kise was almost daunted from continuing to argue.

Almost.

"W-well, you did, but this is still kinda weird! I mean, first of all, we just met like, ten seconds ago. Second, isn't he just a high schooler or something? And third of all, he's a Mage! How is he supposed to teach me anything?"

Kuroko spoke up just as the Bandit finished talking, "actually, I am a year older than you. But I agree with him, Akashi-kun. Wouldn't Haizaki-kun or Momoi-san be a better idea as they are similar classes?"

Haizaki's face twitched, and one could immediately tell he disliked even the prospect of this suggestion. "Oh hell no! I'm not gonna teach some prissy little model how to use a knife."

_…Prissy little model? I'm one of the most famous idols in Japan, and I definitely don't need_ _**you** to teach me! What kind of pedestal is this guy putting himself on? ...Wait, did that kid just say he was older than me!? _

"I can assure all of you that I have my reasons for this arrangement, though it would be difficult to express in words. Besides, Tetsuya, even if you cannot teach him the art of combat, you still have an excellent grasp of the concepts of this game."

"…Nee, Aka-chin. Can I go get some snacks?"

"Not yet, Atsushi."

"Ehh… Akashi?" this time it was Aomine who spoke up. "I think it'd be kinda hard for Tetsu to teach this guy too. Are you sure maybe I shouldn't do it or something? I mean, if they go somewhere with high-level monsters with no tank…" he didn't finish that sentence and waited for a reply.

The redhead contemplated for a bit, also taking into account of his guild's reactions toward his commands.

He nodded slightly to himself before saying, "All right then. Tetsuya, Daiki", he glanced toward them, "You two shall accompany Ryouta for the time being. I would like you to keep in mind that this will be meant to get him up to a certain standard in levels and for him to grow accustomed to your fighting styles; it'd be best for him to get used to your misdirection. Only intervene with his training if needed, though you might as well get some done yourselves."

Both of the blue-haired men looked at each other, a bit relieved at Akashi's words.

_Ehh… why do I have to train with him? He's just a Cleric, so won't he be weak or something? Ah, but at least Aominecchi would be there too~ Then again, why do I have to train with anyone in the first place? Couldn't I just kill monsters myself? ...Am I joining a cult or something? Maybe this is some kind of**–**_  
_  
_Akashi's voice was the thing that brought him out of his thoughts when he inquired, "Do you happen to have a lot of free time do you have this week?"

"Umm… since it's Golden Week, I think I'm pretty free compared to usual. I could try to clear some more time though, since I really like this game."

The redhead smiled to himself. "Excellent. Would you mind telling me of your schedule so that we could work out an effective training regimen for you? I would like for you to reach a certain level so that you would be able to keep up with the rest of us. Also, if you happen to have the time tomorrow, we have another two duels scheduled and it would probably benefit you to gain experience in the arena."

"Of course! I think I have the whole afternoon cleared tomorrow."

_Uwaaaah, group battles! I haven't gotten to try PVPing yet. I can probably get a lot of really nice skills if I do. How many slots do I have left? Fifteen, I think? Well, I could always replace some of the older ones._

The two walked to a less crowded spot and began to work out an amiable agenda that would match up with both Aomine and Kuroko for the next few days. While these two were in their discussion, the majority of their guild was off the side, still confused as to why Kuroko was chosen as Kise's "mentor". Though they couldn't hear what was being said by the two among the chatter and bustle of the rest of the players in the arena, they could see the blonde's facial expression changing drastically every few seconds or so.

Happy. Shocked. Distraught. Happy. Compliant. Sad. And then happy again.

Kuroko found it a bit amusing how much the other's mood showed of his face and how quickly it could change.

A few minutes later, the two men returned to the group after having worked out something of suitable accordance. "Tetsuya, Daiki, would you two mind taking Ryouta to train for a while? And while you're at it, I request that you let him copy some of your skills and spells."

"…I am confused as to what you mean by that, Akashi-kun."

"I mean exactly what I said."

His eyes glanced toward the shining weapon in Kise's hand, and Kuroko followed his eyes. "You see, Ryouta has informed me that he is in possession of a unique item similar to Shougo's. Instead of being able to steal spells, however, his has the power of imitation."

The guild's silver-haired Thief raised a brow at this, and spat when he noticed the similarities between the two weapons he and the blonde held. "Hmph. I bet he sucks at using this though". He lifted a hand and started gesturing for the log-out window to appear.

"Shougo."

He sighed, irritated. "I know already! I'll be back tomorrow. I'm not that stupid that I'd break our contract", he growled, resigned. With a final, "I'm out", he disappeared from the room.

"Hmm, Haizakicchi is good at fighting, but he's kind of a jerk, isn't he?"

"Pretty much", was the unanimous reply that came from the guild–minus Akashi who just chuckled quietly to himself.

The Sorcerer directed his guild outside after noticing that a small crowd was starting to form around the group; some were there because of their fight just now, others because of they had noticed the model in their wake.

When they reached the outside, he gave them some simple orders and instructions:

"Shintarou, take Atsushi and go get some food first–he won't last very long if you don't. Make sure he does not spend all his ladomi on snacks again. After that, I'd like both of you to complete this quest. For the average person, it takes about three hours to complete, but I suppose since you'll be working together, it'll be taken care of swiftly", He sent both of them a PM attached with a map and details of the quest.

Momoi followed them as well, and both the purple-headed giant and she asked Midorima to treat them to food. He scowled at them as if they were mischievous children, though he never actually refused.

Whines of "Mido-chin–" and "Midorin~" were heard as the three walked away. Kise couldn't help but think they'd along well**–**mostly due to the fact that he too loves giving cutesy nicknames to the people he knows.

Akashi turned toward the trio that remained where they stood. "You three. Have you prepared yourself?"

"I have~!", the blonde replied energetically, not having a clue as to what Akashi's "training" entailed.

Akashi, who'd already calculated what the map with the most effective leveling would be, spent the next minute casting one of his dimensional travel spells.

"_This is soooooo aweeeesoooome", _Kise thought, watching the dark ring encompass them until the scenery was merely a pit of black nothingness.

Seconds after being immersed in that space, the void started to disappear from view, and the three men materialized in the middle of a rocky canyon.

Slabs of slate and ore in all sorts of pale shades littered the ground and the dirt-and-stone walls surrounding them. Some of the shinier ones caught Kise's eye, glittering brightly around and above them. One trail of gem-like stones led upward, toward one of the ways of exiting the canyon they were transported to: up.

_"Oh shit!"_ the blonde thought after having looked for where the trail of stones ended.

An large, unevenly-formed boulder was quickly descending above them and, by the looks of its size, it would probably kill them if it made contact.

Aomine was the first to react.

He grabbed the other two and flung them forward out of harm's way**–**before taking a dive back himself.

The boulder was narrowly avoided and crashed thunderingly to the ground, forming a small crater as bits of stone and rubble were strewn all around.

The three made their ways up the cliffs, bounding and climbing as they dodged more of the rocks that were thrown down at them. Kuroko, of course, had a lot of difficulty following the other two. Kise couldn't help but think the Magic-user was a little bit pitiful, being so slow regards to himself and Aomine when they reached the top and he was still only half way.

After making their way out of the crevice, the danger of the falling boulders for Aomine and Kise was now much less prominent; the monsters wouldn't throw at players within a certain range of them.

The Bandit looked around the map. Several large monsters that were similar to… sloths…? Were they? Or maybe they were supposed to be some kind of moles. Kise wasn't sure, but since the two animals look pretty similar in real life (at least to him), he decided not to think on it too much.

One of the creatures, dubbed a "_Folitallupa", _raised its body–which seemed to be covered with slick, flat leaves of some sort–and plunged its jagged claws toward the Bandit.

The speed and power of its crooked nails were deceiving in relation to the monster's appearance, but Kise still managed to step out of the way before being hit.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Aomine practicing his sword play against one of the lumbering creatures, darting around it quickly with his sword shining and shifting and–

_That weapon is so cool! He wasn't using that earlier in the arena. Is it a unique weapon? I've never seen anything like it here._

In the Paladin's hand was a sword hilt adorned with a complicated, interweaving design that ran along its black base. Small flecks of silver could also be seen, elegantly high-lighted and flashing brightly in the sun. What is different about _this_ sword in particular, however, is its blade.

_Is that made of… water?_

Yes, Kise. indeed it is.

From the sword's handle protruded a stream of clear, blue water shaped the blade of a long sword. When the man attacked his enemy again though, the sword changed into a form similar to an axe, giving him a stronger attack power. After jumping back to elude a flurry of sharp, knife-like leaves, he sliced through the creature once more.

When the creature tried to block the blow with its arms (Kise guessed the leaves growing from them added defense to it), the liquid blade merely passed through and then solidified once more, creating a long, blood-soaked fissure along the monster's chest. With one final attack**–**a system automated skill**–**the monster fell dead.

The sword he held, _Hakua_, allowed him a truly formless style–no other would have sufficed. The liquid blade could be molded to any shape he wanted at a moment's notice, which matched his own unpredictable fighting style perfectly. It was a good thing Akashi had hinted at how to use it, otherwise the weapon would have "expired" and disappeared from the game forever.

The Paladin turned to Kise, his face turning dismal as he shouted out the following:

"Geh–! Watch out, you moron!"

"Huh?"

Being distracted by the dark-skinned man's expert swordsmanship, the blonde didn't notice the dark, looming shadow of the monster he'd been fighting, poised to strike above him.

He sprung to the side, hoping to minimize the damage caused by the creature as it swung its claws toward his direction–he knew he wouldn't be able to dodge fully or block something of that power and speed in this little time.

He braced himself for the impact, turning his body in a way that would lessen the damage done to him when he was hit.

Not that he needed to.

A beam of darkness shot out and collided with the side of the monster's head, throwing it off balance and forcing it to fall sideways. Instead of smacking into Kise and possibly ripping him to shreds (though the game actually didn't allow things like that), the _Folitallupa_'s awkward limb glided over the Bandit and hit the ground.

"Kise-kun, you should not be so distracted. I am glad I made it in time, though", the blue-haired Cleric spoke, face devoid of any emotion that would otherwise prove the latter part of his statement true.

The model might have laughed at the irony if he wasn't busy composing himself after barrel-rolling in the dust.

Aomine and Kuroko both arrived where he sat, patting some of the dirt off his pants. His hands were quite grimy and scratched up, and even though he actually hated getting dirty, he felt a strange sense of excitement in the face of the beasts he was being pitted against. Despite the fact he had just gotten hurt and was sure his hair was a mess, it was kind of a nice change from his repetitious, now-mundane way of life.

As if the chains and restraints were free to be cast off.

The Warrior to his side grinned widely and held up his clenched hand. "Nice one, Tetsu!"

The Elf raised his hand as well, and the two bumped fists.

_Ehh!? That attack just now was him? But Akashicchi told me he was a Cleric!  
__  
Somehow… that was actually kind of... awesome_…_  
_

"Are you all right, Kise-kun?"

For a second, he sat stupefied before replying, "Uh… yeah!" and grabbing the two hands that had been outstretched by the two players in front of him.

The taller blue-haired man gave a small, playful scoff as they lifted him. "This is kinda like déjà vu, isn't it?"

Kuroko nodded. The other two didn't see the soft smile tugging the corners of his lips upwards, even if it was only for a split-second and quickly faded. He really couldn't really help it though, he just wasn't used to this kind of thing. He hadn't had much expression ever since middle school some seven or eight years ago.

To him, it was a miracle he could even smile at all; by now, it seemed his facial muscles would've become rigid and stuck in the same bored, blank expression he usually had. Most of the progress he'd made in the last two years was thanks to Takao, even if the other didn't know it.

The Cleric turned to the fallen sloth-leaf-mole-creature-thingy (Kise still wasn't sure of what to call it) which had slowly gotten back up and dug a car-sized chunk of stone from the earth.

It was thrown, but Kuroko was poised and ready for the attack. He had started casting a quick spell before the rock started flying, and a burst of darkness now emanated from the head of his staff, causing the boulder aimed at the three to burst into a rain of small, broken shards and pieces. Afterwards, he left the rest to Aomine and chanted a healing spell on Kise, relieving him of the small cuts on his skin.

Meanwhile, their Paladin guild-mate charged at the beast, reached it in a speed that shouldn't have been possible for Fighter types, (and yet for him, it was) and comboed it ferociously before it could even _try_ to attack. This _Folitallupa_ let out a deafening screeching sound as it became fodder for his next level up.

But for once, however, Kise wasn't paying much attention to him. He was still reeling in the sight of seeing Kuroko blast that huge boulder into smithereens with a single spell.

_I'm so stupid**–**Aominecchi is friggen cool, Momoicchi is friggen cool, Midorimacchi is so friggen cool… They're all so friggen cool! Ahhh, I should have known it when I saw them all earlier… Why did I think that it was possible that in this guild, this guy wasn't cool too? It's so weird though, he's using dark spells even though he's a healer! Is that even legal?_

_…ARRRRGGGHHHHHH–! …he's lame and awesome at the same time! I kinda feel bad for insulting him in my mind now. Sorry, sorry, it was my bad. Haaaaaaaaa… Why was I let into this guild? I'm pretty sure I haven't proven myself to anyone yet but… I really wanna be cool too!  
_

As if it were bending to his will, the chance came right away.

At a sizeable distance away, the earth started to convulse violently, and a gigantic rift become apparent in the center of the churning vortex of dirt. From the newly-formed crevice, a head popped out–huge, ugly, and leafy; the rest of the sloth-mole creature's colossal body soon followed in a similar fashion.

"… I guess this is why Akashi-kun wanted us to come here."

"He really doesn't let up, does he? I'm pretty sure this boss is like, five levels above Kise. No way he'd be able to beat it alone", Aomine said as the two began to stroll casually toward the gargantuan creature. Really, they were just taking their time. They had already faced much worse, after all.

A few steps away, Kuroko craned his neck around to ask, "Kise-kun, are you ready?"

The Bandit wiped his sweaty palms before running after them. "Hn… yeah, I'm ready!"

"I'll show you've what I've got, so just wait for me! Aominecchi, **_Kurokocchi_**!"

* * *

_Omake**–**Another of the unfortunate Tetsu-kun series:_

_"Oh shit!"_ the blonde thought after having looked for where the trail of stones ended.

An large, unevenly-formed boulder was quickly descending above them and, by the looks of its size, it would probably kill them if it made contact.

Aomine was the first to react.

He grabbed the other two and flung them forward**–**

They promptly got crushed by the massive stone.

Looks like your aim was a bit off, Aomine.

* * *

I don't know if that would actually become a series ^_  
_  
You guys are gonna hate me for this next secret I'm about to tell you. So you know how Kuroko's weapon is called the "_Phantom's Staff of Arcane_ _Shadows_"?

The reason is more than because it matches him and is supposed to sound cool. You can rearrange the name a bit and it becomes the "_Phantom's Arcane Shadow Staff"_  
_  
__{**P**hantom's **A**rcane **S**hadow **S**taff}_

Yep. Kuroko is the PASS master. I'm so done with myself. (not)

Anyways, thanks for reading once again, I'm very grateful to those of you who are sticking with this even though I'm such an inconsistent writer.

I answer back to all questions, so if you have any, send them through PM or drop a review~


	19. Extra Chapter: Kuroko & Takao

My mind was plagued. I'm sorry, I'll get back to plot immediately. This is an extra chapter~

SCHOOL IS OVER TOMORROW HALLELUJAH _FANIME_ STARTS FRIDAY HALLELUJAH. Don't worry people, I'll be writing in those three hours I'll have to wait in like for my badge. ;D

Disclaimer: "Kuroko no Basuke does not belong to me", I whisper softly as the fandom draws a pentagon around me and sacrifices me to Satan. (I go on Tumblr, but I don't have one).

Btw the dates in this chapter are actually real (I checked) but everything from every other is two days off.

* * *

Extra Chapter: _A story of the meeting and progression between Kuroko Tetsuya and Takao Kazunari (and their roommate).  
_

* * *

_Friday: February 29, 2036. 10:06 A.M._

College entrance exams. Yes, it was indeed that time of the year for high school graduates hopeful in their struggles to pursue a higher,more advanced level of education–such as it's been for centuries in Japan. What has changed is that–since about thirty years ago, the dates have been pushed further and further back, and so most testing occurs during late winter or early spring, as opposed to in April.

At the moment, an eighteen-year-old Kuroko Tetsuya is lost on the campus of Tokyo Gakuin University, a relatively new college established somewhere in the early twenties. The simplistic paper map in his hands did him no good as he attempted to navigate the campus, so he decided to look for some kind of directory that would, hopefully, be more accurate.

The blue-haired man made his way down one of the concrete walkways, keeping an eye out for an electronic bulletin board of some sort (he was sure he had seen one somewhere) that would give him instructions on how to get to the examination hall for incoming applicants.

He barely even noticed when a large densely-packed crowd of joggers started to trudge through, quickly clearing the path of any unfortunate individuals in their wake.

Sumo wrestlers.

Why this university even had a professional sumo team, Kuroko didn't know. What he did know, however, was that the assembly of _mawashi_-clad men (the majority of them unhealthily overweight for some reason) did not see him, and so he slowly lifted his feet to take a few steps onto the synthetic grass that lined the path.

Before he could start though, he felt something grab his arm and forcefully yank him backwards, resulting in a loss of balance and his face being pressed up in something that felt like a man's chest.

Because it _was_ a man's chest.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked him as he felt the hands on his head and around his back lax and remove themselves.

Kuroko did not know that this would be the beginning of, for lack of better term, a "beautiful friendship".

Turning his head and eyes upward, he saw a taller, dark-haired man with slate-blue eyes and a wide, cheerful grin."Ah, yes. I am not hurt. Thank you for helping me", Kuroko bowed and replied back, monotonous as ever even though he was, to be put simply, vexed at the current situation.

"No problem. Are you visiting an older brother or sister here or something? If you are, the student dorms are that way," the man said, pointing a finger toward a collection salmon-colored buildings. "The people at the front desk let you in as long as you tell them your name and who you're related to."

"…Actually, I am looking for the building where they are holding entrance examinations."

"So you're looking for someone there? The testing is gonna start soon though, so you should probably hurry up", the stranger grinned, "I'm on my way there myself. You could follow me if you'd like."

"I would very much appreciate it," the blue-haired man said as the two started walking.

Conversation on the way to the exam hall was all initiated by the black-haired man, and Kuroko would always respond curtly; It wasn't that he was trying to be rude or anything, it's just that he wasn't accustomed to speaking more than a few words to anyone (aside from his family) for anything other than school related duties or work.

Things like, "so what's your name?" and "do you want to go to this college too?" were asked, and Kuroko would give his usual stunted, one-word responses. Nevertheless, the taller man–who had introduced himself as "Takao Kazunari" somewhere along the way (and by the way, had started to call him "Tet-chan")–still remained undiscouraged by the lack of emotion evident in the other's mannerisms. If anything, he seemed to take it as a challenge and set to passionately conversing about some new first-person shooter game that had come out last month.

In a few minutes, the two arrived at the exam building–a majestic ziggurat painted a creamy, ecru white and decorated with braided vines creeping up its sides, along with lush, vibrant flowerbeds spread out at the structure's front. When entering, they found the inside was just as superb as its exterior.

_The floor is polished very nicely. Granite, I think? Or maybe marble? Hmmm…that is a very nice chandelier..._

"The general testing area is this way", Takao announced, pulling Kuroko by the arm for the second time that day.

The exam hall was a huge, brightly-lit room with hundreds of desks lined up in straight, neat rows. The woman sitting at the front desk barely spared them a glance as they walked in.

Takao dug into his pockets and pulled out a shiny emblem with the university's insignia printed on it. "After the testing starts, anyone without this badge gets kicked out of the room, so you should find whoever you're looking for quickly. The desks here all come with a fingerprint scanner, so if you have the ID code of whoever you're looking for, you can ask the woman at the front desk to help you."

Kuroko gave a slight nod. "Thank you for helping me again, Takao-san."

"You know, you don't have to be so formal just because I'm your elder", the dark-haired man laughed as he walked away to find an unclaimed desk to sit and wait at.

_"The assessment period will begin in thirty minutes. We ask that all unauthorized individuals leave the examination room. Anyone who fails to comply with our conditions will be forcefully removed, along with any related test-takers."_

A cluster of people–parents, siblings, friends, and lovers–all said their last words to the examinees and exited the room.

Takao pulled out his tablet computer and began to cram in some last minute studying.

* * *

_"The exam will begin in two minutes. Please find a seat if you have not already done so and put away all personal belongings including–but not limited to–the following: electronic devices, study materials, food items, and beverages. You are not allowed to talk during this exam. After submitting your test, you are to leave the examination hall. Anyone caught disregarding these terms will be immediately escorted out of the building and will no longer be eligible for consideration of acceptance in this establishment."_

Approximately twenty-nine minutes and twelve seconds after walking into the hall, Takao Kazunari experiences what he believes to be a mini heart attack as he finally notices the blue-haired boy sitting at the desk next to him.

"T-Tet-chan!? What are you doing!?" the dark-haired man exclaimed as the other latched open the scanning pad, pressed his thumb to it, and then closed it back up.

"This is one of the last tables left", he replied, placing his belongings–a reference book and a pocket novel–into his messenger bag which had been resting on the floor. The top of the desk started to slide back, and underneath, a touch-screen panel along with an electric pen was revealed.

"What!? But-You-Wait-" the words came out choppily and Takao looked off to the side; it was as if he expected to find someone else that shared his same amount of puzzlement as to why this boy–possibly still a middle schooler–had his fingerprint and ID validated without a problem.  
_  
_Kuroko gave him a blank stare (which for him, was a normal thing) and explained, "you never asked how old I was", before holding up his ID for the other to see.

"Ehh… EHHHHHHHH!?"

Takao quickly stood up out of surprise, which was, admittedly, a bad decision on his part due to the fact that the desk and its chair were connected.

His thighs hit the blunt underside-

_Bang._

And he landed back on the chair.  
_  
Thump._

_"That sounded rather painful", _Kuroko thought as the sounds reached his ears.

As if the look on the other man's face wasn't already a clear indication.

"Good luck with your exam, Takao-kun", the stoic man deadpanned as he slid his ID into his pocket.

"Ah! Wait, yo-"

_"The examination period will begin now. You will have two hours to complete the assessment."_

The sky-haired man stared at him for a short while but quickly turned his head back to his desk and began to fill in the answers to his questions. At that point, they both knew that it was time to get down to business.

This was the test that would probably decide the next few years-or-so of their lives.

With that in mind, Takao as well picked up his touch-pen and began choosing options and writing; he carefully racked his brain for the answers to the questions laid out in front of him. Every once in a while though, he'd take a short glance at the almost ghost-like man to his right and reaffirm that he was, indeed, a high school graduate like himself.

The exam room was silent except for the sound of people scrawling against the desk screens and the occasional tapping of shoes on the floor.

About an hour in, a few people started leaving–from the looks on their faces, it was either they completely bullshitted the test and gave up on trying or were just extremely intelligent, well-prepared, or confident that whatever they put down was enough to get them accepted.

Another half-hour and Takao had nearly completed his questions; he had just a few more on advanced calculus and writing comprehension skills (both of which he'd frantically brushed up on in anticipation of this day).

Meanwhile, Kuroko was skimming back over his questions and trying to fill in any he had skipped over earlier. Inside, he was a bit nervous about this even though he had prepared thoroughly enough and took several mock tests. Some of the problems, however, were completely foreign to him so he could only take his best shot while hoping he subconsciously knew what he was doing.

After a while, both men decided to stop prolonging their fates and finalize the decisions they'd made.  
Studies have showed it wasn't very good to dwell on answers during test-taking after all; too much "deliberation" often leads to indecisiveness and an agitated, troubled mind unfit for this tactful process.

The first one to submit his exam and leave the room was Takao, though Kuroko followed a few minutes after.

He was surprised when he found the taller man waiting outside the building, a broad grin on his face when he proclaimed, "man, I was really surprised just now. You're older than I am, you know! So anyways, how do you think you did?"

And of course, Kuroko hadn't expected that the other would approach him again, so it took a long, drawn-out pause before he could find words to respond with.

"I think it went all right. And you?"

They chatted while walking toward one of the school gates, and when they reached it, they split ways towards their respective destinations.

In another two weeks, they would meet again in the campus cafeteria with a cheerful, "How's it going Tet-chan?" and a modest, "fine. Good afternoon, Takao-kun", given back.

Kuroko wasn't exactly sure how the other could find him so easily, or how and why he would even bother with him, but he found the company enjoyable even if they didn't have too much in common.

Besides the occasional conversation, it also hadn't been unexpected thing for the black-haired man to randomly approach him and invite him somewhere–things like a party or a goukon or whatever it was that was usually expected of college students. Takao seemed to know a lot of people from just about every department in the University. _Every_ department.

Of course, Kuroko would always respectively decline as he wasn't used to that kind of thing and didn't have much of an interest; either way, it'd probably end up with just him reading one of his books. The only difference was that, instead of the quiet atmosphere of the library or the bus he rode back to his apartment, he'd be surrounded by other people (and most likely unnoticed).

Neither of the two men could remember the first time the older man had actually accepted one of Takao's proposals. It might have been after the thirtieth or fortieth time or so; no one had really been counting.

Unlike the other suggestions he'd made, the man had been asking around for volunteers to go help at one of the local animal shelters. And so Kuroko, being an unexpected lover of just about all furry creatures (or at least to Takao), had immediately agreed.

That day had been the first that Takao had seen him smile.

From then on, the pestering had been upped a few (more like, a lot of) notches and the invitations came much more frequently–of course, they had become more mild activities since Takao knew he'd be swiftly shot down for anything else.

Somewhere in the middle of all the study sessions they had and lunch breaks between their classes, Takao had successfully wheedled his way into Kuroko's life–not that the blue-haired man minded.

Before the start of their second year, Kuroko had gotten tired of having to commute to the university which was forty minutes (when conditions were favorable) away from his lodgings; the reason he had rented the place was because it had been cheap and he usually wasn't one for being wasteful. Takao, who'd felt they had become familiar enough, offered to help him find an apartment with the use of all the connections he had. Really, he had _a lot_.

While in the process of the search, they had failed to find any affordable single-occupant flats being rented out. They had, however, found quite the bargain in a nice three-room apartment just ten minute's walking distance away from campus.

The rest is pretty much self-explanatory.

Though that's not gonna stop me from explaining it anyways.

The two had put up an advertisement looking for another tenant on a website associated with the university and had gotten a few replies within the next week.

After picking out someone normal and pleasant from among the group–not the guy they were sure was a hardcore druggie; or the obsessive-compulsive eater who was, apparently, a huge heavy metal fan (heh, get the pun?); or the three-peat offender of "indecent public behavior" who actually turned out to be a very muscular woman–they got the lease signed for the next two years. There were more people than this, but Takao would really rather forget about all the interviews they held and leave them in the past.

Kuroko agrees with those sentiments.

The three men assisted each other with the move–which actually wasn't very needed because none of them had much to carry in, save for Takao's videogame collection and some small furniture.

They got along rather nicely; the housemate the blue-eyed men had gotten was a kindhearted and rather average-in-all-aspects man named Furihata Kouki. Like them, he was also becoming a college sophomore.

And now, here they are another trip-around-the-sun later.

Kuroko is still pretty impassive, but he's gotten a lot better.

Takao is still loud and obtrusive, and he hasn't gotten better.

And yes, these two are still "BFFs", as Takao calls it (and Kuroko still doesn't know what that means).

Another funny thing though:

Kuroko did not understand–or even consider–the fact that, for the first three months that had followed their meeting, he had been aggressively hit on.

* * *

_Wednesday: April 2, 2038. The release date of Kiseki World Online._

A loud crash sounded out from the _genkan_, and Kuroko and Furihata turned their heads from the TV to see their black-haired flatmate practically skipping in.

"I'm home~!"

"Welcome back", the two others said back to him. Then Furihata proceeded to half-fall off the couch and flail like a fish out of water as he clung to the sofa upside down.

"HOLY CRAP KUROKO, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN THERE!?"

"Since you started singing and dancing along to children's cartoo-"

He was silenced by the pillow thrown at his head.

Takao laughed and put down his heavy bags before merrily crooning, "I'm gonna be in my room for the next few hours, 'kay~?" He kicked off his shoes, lifted the gaming gear he had purchased, and quickly rushed into his room to set it up so he could begin playing. From inside, Kuroko heard him call out, "you guys should get one too! I'll be so lonely without you!"

"I'm poor!"

"It doesn't matter Kou-chan, we're all poor!"

"You will wake up the neighbors if you keep shouting."

Takao popped his head out around the door frame and laughed maniacally. "Tsk tsk tsk, this is what these soundproof walls are for", he affirmed as he knocked on them. Nothing could stop him as he started to sing his lungs out to a butchered version of what might have been Jingle Bells.

Well, except for a pillow to the face.

"That was mean, Tet-chan!"

"You deserved it."

A loud computerized "_beep_" sounded out from his room, and the smile on Takao's face grew. "Well then, I'll see you guys later. Remember to save me some dinner later!"

"Kay."

When the Takao receded into his room once more, Furihata turned to Kuroko and asked, "do you think you're gonna start playing it too?"

The blue-haired man paused, taking a moment to ponder to inquiry.

_Takao-kun won't stop talking about it, but it does seem a bit interesting. And I don't have much to do anymore since I'm taking fewer classes this year and there's less work at the Kindergarten. Perhaps it would be a good experience._

"Hmm… it seems like it might be fun and I do not buy many things anyways, so I guess-"

"-Maybe?" the sentence was finished for him.

Kuroko gave one of his unnoticeable miniscule lip curvatures and nodded.

"Yes, maybe."

* * *

_With the help of Takao, he discovers the joys of the VR world three weeks later._

* * *

I admit it. I ship TakaKuro. But again, my OTP is KiKuro.

Maybe I should write a rival sandwich fic someday.

On that note, I wrote a new fic yesterday. If anyone likes AkaFuri, I implore that you read it (though only prologue is up) This won't get in the way of KWO though, because this obviously takes priority.

Thank you for reading~


	20. Chapter 18: Fight & Rise

Sorry this took so long, I caught acute writer's block. And Fanime was so much fun.

These are replies to guest reviews:

nYandere: No, I don't live there. I do, however, happen to be Asian and have many relatives living in Malaysia. I'm an American btw.

Guest: I'm glad you like Takao that way~ It's fun writing him because I get to put in a little bit of crack.

hotwetlumpia: I'm sorry that you dislike AkaFuri, but you are entitled to your opinion. There's about a 99% chance that I'll write it in though.

This is unrelated, but please allow me to tell you a true story of my trip Fanime (with **slight spoiler** so you might want to skip if you're not updated with the manga for KnB)

_The first day I went to Fanime, I bought some stickers at the price of 4 for a dollar, and they were KnB characters. I got Kuroko, Kise, Midorima, and Akashi first. The next day, I realized I had lost Akashi and went to get more, so I went back and bought Kagami, Aomine, Murasakibara, and another Akashi. A few days later, I found the missing Akashi in my bag, a little dirty and stuff but nonetheless it was there. So when I realized there were two of Akashi, I freakin' flipped._

_The End._

And without further ado, The Basketball which Kuroko plays is (/bangs head on wall) not mine._  
_

* * *

Chapter 18: Fight & Rise

* * *

_Tuesday: May 1, 2038. 4:37 P.M._

Our trio had just finished fighting the fourth boss they'd come across (more of the sloth-like creatures from before) and were in the process of walking into a Maji Burger at Kise's suggestion.

"That was so awesome!" the blonde loudly exclaimed as he skipped down walkway, "We're going again tomorrow, right? Right?"

Kuroko glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Yes, but aren't you a model Kise-kun? Do you really have the time to be playing this game?"

The Bandit grinned, "Actually, I've been cutting down on work lately and I'm free for most of Golden Week. I'm a little bit surprised that Kurokocchi actually knows about me though. You don't seem like the type that reads this kind of stuff or anything–no offense."

"Meh… That's 'cause Tetsu works in a convenience store."

"Really?"

"When it is a bit slow, I sometimes read the magazines in the store, "the Cleric spoke as the three found a booth and shifted comfortably into the seats. A second later, a light bulb appeared above Kise's head after he examined the bluenette's response.

"That reminds me!" he all but shouted, pointing toward Kuroko and then questioning him innocently, "Are you really older than me?"

Kuroko inwardly sighed at the fact that this occurrence was happening quite frequently nowadays. In the past week alone, it'd been around three or four times. Disregarding his own silent irritancy, he replied with his usual civil tone, "Yes. I turned twenty this year. I believe I am a few months older than you, Kise-kun."

"Ehh… Kurokocchi's baby face is pretty amazing then. I really thought you were a high schooler–maybe even middle. You'll probably look the same when you're thirty or something!"

_Is this a new type of spell or something? Holy shit, what is that!?_

"Oi, K-Kise, w-we should talk about something else."

"Huh? Why?" the blonde asked, looking up from the menu to the view of the two blue-haired men sitting in front of him. His happy-go-lucky expression turned blank, followed by terrorized and teary. "GAAAAHHHH! That's scary, Aominecchi, make it stop!"

In that minute, he may have gained a different type of respect (more like fear) for the Cleric.

"What am I supposed to do!? This is your fault!" the Paladin screeched, trying to avoid several of the obscure shapes emanating from the smaller man next to him. _"This is worse than his height complex,"_ he thought, desperately scooting as far away as possible. The scariest part was that, despite the obvious fact that Kuroko was rather upset by the offhand comment, his demeanor was still relatively unchanged and–

_Shit, I think something just touched my leg!_

At that moment, the NPC waitress chose to walk over to the table and carefully set down their orders. Even she seemed to be a bit reluctant to approach though. Maybe it was the AI or something.

While keeping his stare even and straight ahead–though he seemed more to be looking _through _Kise and not _at _him–he grabbed the drink that he'd recently become so addicted to and took a nice, long sip.

_Thank god…_

The tan-skinned man exhaled in relief; the blackness surrounding the older man quickly dissipated and was replaced with the illusion of fragrant daisies, roses, and bright sunshine. "Tetsu," he started, "You really gotta stop doing things like that."

The Elf turned to him, sipped him milkshake, and replied blankly, "things like what?"

There may have been the chance he was joking or teasing (unless he really didn't know he was like that when upset), but Aomine wanted to no further explore the subject and decided to drop it while he had the chance.

Meanwhile, Kise had forgotten all about the killing intent from half a minute ago.

"_Kurokocchi is a little bit like a kid, it's sorta cute_", he thought to himself, not wanting to incur more of the Elf's soundless wrath, _"I wish I had a younger brother". _He'd now taken up to enjoying the view of the flowers and the taste of his burger. Sadly, even though Maji Burger had a varied assortment of strange foods, such as tofu soup, lobster meat, and full-sized cakes, they didn't have _his _favorite–which by the way is onion gratin soup.

Approximately, the next twenty-two minutes and twelve seconds were spent talking about and doing meaningless, everyday things: Kise describing his modeling career, Aomine studying for his written exams, Kuroko telling Aomine about some of the children at the Daycare (at this point Kise practically jumped the two for more information), Kise telling them he was jealous, Aomine telling him, "shut up already, you're annoying!", Kuroko finishing his shake (and ordering another), Kise crying, "that's so cruel! Comfort me, Kurokocchi!" Kuroko ignoring him completely–I think you get the point by now, so I'll stop right here.

Succeeding those conversations, they arrived back on the topic of more game-relevant things.

"Tomorrow is gonna be my first PVP! I wonder if we'll win."

"The group from earlier was pretty weak, so since we're still an unknown guild, I'm pretty sure it'll be a while before we get people who at least put up a challenge."

"I'm still kind of nervous though! What if I mess up or something?"

"I do not think you have to worry about that. Kise-kun is already very strong."

"Kurokocchi~!", the blonde sang, eyes sparkling as he launched himself across the table. Too bad for him, because resistance was found in the form of Aomine's calloused fist colliding with his face and sending him flying onto the table behind him.

"Aominecchi, did you really just punch a model's face with no hesitation!?"

"It was instinct; I couldn't help it. It felt like a big monster was leaping my way," the bluenette replied without any sign of remorse or sympathy.

"Why am I on the same level as a monster?"

"Whatever, we're in a game anyways, so that bruise will heal quickly."

"Bruise!?"

Kuroko decided to block out their bickering by occupying his mind with a nice novella for a few minutes, though it was difficult to filter as they started running around and throwing condiments at each other with no regard for the others in the building.

"_Ping!"_

_Kiyoshi 05/01/38 5:16*__  
__Close message index.*  
_**.  
**He hadn't expected to be interrupted by that, but he still de-materialized his book and lifted a finger to the blinking message.  
**.**

_**Kiyoshi 05/01/38 5:16***__  
__Close message index.*_  
**.**

_"Hey Kuroko-kun~ How have you been since last time? We're doing fine if you were wondering~. By the way, do you want to join ou-"_

_"Too fast Kiyoshi! We haven't even gotten to say hi yet!"_

The blue-haired man watched them take turns shoving each other out of scope range to say hello. Well, except for the quiet one–Mitobe, if Kuroko remembered correctly–who was silently waving to him. Sooner or later, however, all of them were knocked to the ground in a single swift movement by Riko who promised them something about "doubling training."

After they calmed down, she started by saying, "_How are you, Kuroko-kun? I think it's been a week or so since we met, so we decided to see how you were doi-"_

_"Guess what!"_, Koganei butted in_, "We have a guild now! Well, just in name, but we have it!"_

Riko smiled darkly.

Hyuuga shifted the camera after from the two, but Kuroko could still hear a few screams of terror in the background and felt a cold chill permeate through the holographic images. A few seconds later, all was silent. The brunette woman once again situated herself in the scope with a wide smile that honestly scared Kuroko more than any possible terrifying creature from this game. Kuroko could see the rest of her guild members–some of which he didn't recognize–huddled together, cowering from her fury.

"What's that, Tetsu?" asked Aomine from behind him; judging by the state their mustard, ketchup, and a couple other things-covered clothes were in, both sides had suffered heavy casualties.

_Hmm. I guess he met other people before me and Satsuki._

"Don't block the view, let me see too!" said the blonde as he rested his head over Kuroko's shoulder.

_"Where was I again? Oh well, since he already said it, I guess I might as well go on. We established a guild a few days ago and have been recruiting members. Right now we have-"_, she stopped to turn around and count them, "_ten members. We were wondering if you would like to join us if you haven't found any parties yet. Also, we're departing toward the fourth island in a few days, at most around two weeks, and we'll probably be able to raise the ladomi we need for a guild building soon."_

From behind her, Kuroko could hear Izuki utter, _"Kitakore! We'll be able to… af__**for**__d it. Get it? 'Cause we're going to the 'fourth'isl-"_

This time Riko didn't even need to expend the effort as their only glasses-wearing member had already dragged him away by the ear.

_"You can send your answer any time"_, Kiyoshi said after re-entering the frame with a care-free expression, _"Well, since you're online now, it'd be nice if you could send one immediately~"_

Riko pushed him aside again, _"We'll be waiting". _With a final smile, the screen disappeared.

_Man, that woman looks violent… and her chest is really small. Wait a minute, shouldn't be thinking of this right now, Tetsu's not actually gonna join them, is he?_

"WaaaaAAh, Don't leave Kurokocchi!"

The Cleric couldn't enunciate very well because of the fact that there were arms around his neck in an unintentional chokehold. Luckily for him (though Kise had to sustain _more_ damage), the death grip was loosened with a hard hit to the blonde's head and another to his side.

After a small intake of air, he replied, "no, I will not join their guild. If I had not met and joined the _Generation of Miracles_, perhaps, but that is not the case. I am happy where I am right now. Besides, I have already promised that I would help make this guild the strongest–the number one in Japan."_  
_  
While the shorter man was writing a similar message back to the other guild, Aomine grinned and ruffled his light-blue locks, effectively shaping it to a hair stylist's worst nightmare.

"I would appreciate if you did not do that, Aomine-kun."

"Murasakibara does it all the time though."

"Both of you seem to forget the fact I am older than you, even if only by a year or so."

"I think 'cause you're so sho-"

Kuroko didn't need to hear the end of that sentence to know where it was going. Since he was in a Neutral Zone–which, as I failed to explain earlier, is a map area where systemated spells and attacks are disabled–he couldn't use his Magic. So of course, he settled for the next best thing: equipping his staff and using its blunt end to jab backwards toward the Paladin's gut.

Aomine fell to the ground, right next to Kise who was also still writhing in pain.

_Tetsu, you bastard, that hurt! I don't have my armor equipped!_

The stoic man paid no heed to their groaining as he finished his reply letter and promptly sent it. "It is almost time for me to go to work, so I will be leaving now", were his next words prior to selecting the options menu buttons and escaping the protests from the two on the ground.

Kise and Aomine stared blankly at each other for a few seconds before finally getting up. After their shortest companion had left, they had finally started to become mindful of the confused and curious looks they were getting from the other people in the restaurant.

It did not help in the slightest that they were drenched in sriracha sauce.

* * *

_Wednesday: May 2, 2038. 11:02 A.M.  
_  
_"__Just as I thought, they're all really amazing"__,_ thought Kise in awe, watching their opponents being taken down one-by-one at an unrelenting rate by his guild mates.

This match, Midorima and Akashi were both absent due to something that came up in real life, at least according to the words spoken through Murasakibara.

_Heaven's Alliance_ (the other guild) was underestimating them, but they were riled up by the fact that the opposing leader wasn't even attending and sent out the majority of their members to duel, coming out to a bit more than twenty players.

"Five people only? Ha! Are you getting cocky or something? It doesn't matter that you're a couple levels higher than us, idiots. Are you even taking this seriously?" some of them of them had jeered. they hadn't even taken any notice of Kuroko.

Apparently this guild hadn't heard of yesterday's win, and thought this would be an easy victory for themselves. "This is gonna be over in three, maybe four minutes, tops."

Oh, how true those words would be.

The lineup was six versus twenty-three on a grassy field. Both sides had waited for the starting signal, and then rushed into the middle of the field when it sounded.

In the front lines were around fifteen frontline fighters that clashed with their five. Behind them, several Mages and Hunters were casting spells or firing off arrows imbued with whatever elements they held.

De-buff skills seemed abundant for the other guild's Mages–a weaken-and-capture (or in this case, kill) type strategy that was a pretty basic idea. It was their unlucky fates that they were pitted up against the _this_ guild_._

Even if one of Kuroko's teammates had some kind of skill-bind or curse placed on them, it barely mattered in this fight. Kise and Haizaki could take care of those type of things themselves, and for their two Fighters, they didn't even need the system attacks. Momoi seemed to have a bit of trouble with it as she wasn't strong physically, but Kuroko would support her from the back and surprise the enemy every single time.

After a few seconds, when finally got tired of all the disturbances supporting the main line from the back, Aomine kicked one of his opponents into another attacking him and sprinted toward the group there. He took two of them out, a Cleric and a Gunman, before the people chasing him could catch up.

As for Haizaki, he was getting his kicks out of toying around with his opponents, slowly stealing all their systemated skills and laughing at their despair when they realized they were completely erased from their archives. Akashi had warned him not to, but because he wasn't here, he couldn't enforce his rule.

On the other side of the field, Murasakibara was... sitting down, bored and barely moving as he was pelted with throwing knives and other weapons. Kuroko speculated he might only take action when directed by Akashi, who, of course, was absent. When he sent a short PM saying, "Please take better care of yourself", however, the Berserker at least stood up and returned a few of the blows given to him. Due to his monstrous strength, it was more than enough to drain their HP down to zero.

Since that was now taken care of, the Elf went to heal and help their faction's peach-haired Spy, who was being ganged up on by three of the other guild's members and was having difficulty dodging some of their attacks.

Later that day, she would fall irrevocably in love with him because of a video replay of this battle and a Popsicle stick.

But I digress:

It seems Kise had the same idea as Kuroko did, because at the same time Kuroko besieged one of them with a strong mid-level spell, another was hit by an unexpected arrow to the head (which, as I've mentioned, is quite a mental shock) and fell backward.

Momoi followed up on their assist by taking advantage of the trio's last member's confusion and knifed him from behind, not giving the chance to counter attack.

"Watch out!" Kise yelled to the pinkette, firing off another two arrows to stop an Assassin class player from letting some throwing stars fly at her. Since he wasn't as accurate as Midorima, they didn't make contact, but it was at least enough to give Momoi the time to execute a back flip by rebounding off the back of the Blacksmith she'd just attacked and letting the projectiles hit him instead. In half a second, Momoi had already calculated the angle of descent she'd needed to land on top of her assailant and did so with a resounding drop-kick.

Relieved that Momoi was out of the imminent zone of danger, Kise relaxed for a moment. Then he heard a scream of pain to his left, and twisted around to find a fellow Rogue face-down in the dirt, pretty much already dead even if he had a bit of health left.

"Like Momoi-san, Kise-kun should also be more careful", Kuroko monotoned next to him before finishing off the player on the ground. The blonde jumped a bit at the Cleric's sudden appearance. "Don't scare me like that!"

As much as he was trying, it was very difficult to get used to. He thinks he's gotten a little bit better, though.

"I am sorry, that is impossible. Also, we are still in the middle of a battle right now."

"Oh, yeah!" the blonde then smiled and dashed away to find someone else to fight. "Thanks, Kurokocchi!"

Meanwhile, Aomine was ripping through a few of the other team's Mages. As they were low on physical defense, he only needed one or two hits to send them back into the PVP lounge. Without the extra support and interference of their ranged members, the Fighters, Rogues, and other close-ranged players in front were even more easily taken care of.

And so, within three minutes and nineteen seconds, _Heaven's Alliance__ suffered overwhelming defeat at the hands of __Generation of Miracles__._

* * *

_Saturday: May 5, 2038. 2:22 P.M._

Five days.

An estimate of what it had taken for the _Generation of Miracles _to reach a point where they were quickly becoming one of the most distinguished guilds in the game.

From their first group battle to the one they had just completed, they had controlled every single victory without fail, even if they only had a grand total of eight members.

Currently, they were number 72 in the Official Rankings List, meaning they had jumped over 500 spaces since last Tuesday. Though it wasn't in the top fifty yet, keep in mind that they had only battled with a handful of other guilds, of which whom seemed to rely more on the fact that they had numbers rather than individual strengths. Now that they were challenging stronger enemies, however, pride was on the line; the other guilds would fight in the way they did, which means less people and more skill.

Because they had gained so much attention from moving up the ranks so fast, they were receiving a mass of requests to join their group (all shot down) and multiple summons to contest by some of the higher-ranked organizations. Also helping to boost their fame was the fact that they had Kise, who as you all know, is obviously a famous model–not that the rest of them weren't attractive as well. They were.

Oh yeah, there were also the rumors that they had a ghost in their team.

Their dual-eyed leader had seemed rather satisfied at this sudden fame.

What he wasn't satisfied with, however, was that lately he had a headache with the name Haizaki Shougo. He was proving rather difficult to keep in check whenever Akashi took his eyes away–the silver-haired Thief would sometimes go out of his way just to provoke them, but mostly Kise into a fight, one which the blonde would accept and usually lose. It was clear that they didn't get along at all, but Akashi had thought they would at least tolerate each other and not fight like squabbling little children when not in his presence.

But enough of that, let's move on to some of the changes made to the game.

One was a new type of classification, the "Esteem Evaluation Ranking", which sorted players according to their actions toward others. Bonuses would be given out to the kindest players and the most infamous, though it was highly skewed toward certain classes. Things like killing or stealing from other players outside an official PVP were the types that were inputted. For the kinder side of this system, it was deeds like buffing others and giving out items.

Another alteration made was one that many players found annoying, but that the systems management team seemed to think was enjoyable and realistic (or perhaps they just enjoyed the suffering of their people). A short patch implemented a few hours ago was the cause of all this, and after logging in, Kuroko was still apprehensive toward the fact that his hair was now long enough to reach his shoulders.

He did, however, find amusement watching his guild (besides Momoi) struggling with their newly-gained elongated follicles. They couldn't pull it off nearly as well as he could.

The reason for this game change was unknown, but Kuroko guessed that the administration was giving the players a little more freedom; a chance to slightly deviate from how they are in real life without full blown consequences or complications. Still, he could not help but think it was rather troublesome that, from now on, hair would have to be maintained like it would in reality.

Most of the members of the _"GoM"_, as it has been abbreviated, were now taking a break in their recently-purchased guild hall and waiting for their green-haired Archer to come back.

Akashi and Momoi were going over the guild's finances, their dark-skinned member was sleeping (Kuroko hadn't known it'd been possible in the game, but apparently it was), after chopping his hair off with his knife, Haizaki went out to "picking up chicks", and Murasakibara and Kise were both playing with their shortest male member's hair. Every few seconds, their pinkette would enviously glance over, so after a few minutes, Akashi let her go so that she too could fawn and gush over Kuroko.

_"Where did they get all these ribbons?"_

After a short trip to the weapon's smith, Midorima returned with two pairs of scissors, meaning that they could finally cut off their ridiculous-looking, unneeded mops.

Though it was a viable option for them to go to one of the new salons placed in the towns, Akashi had insisted that he cut it so that they wouldn't have to waste the ladomi and the time. The salons that had been set up were extremely crowded and the Guild had recently purchased this Stronghold for 11.5 million (because it was more comfortable than the cheapest building type). There wasn't much leftover if they wanted to get some new gear.

Kuroko wondered why the redheaded man seemed to be in a slightly foul mood today, but then he caught sight of his own reflection and decided, "_Maybe this is the problem."_

"Akashi-kun, do you have experience with cutting hair?"

"just a bit, but I can assure you of my skill," he had smiled, taking up one of the sharp cutting tools.

True to his words, it was only a matter of time before they had finally gotten their hair back to appropriate length and style.

"Akashicchi is like a pro!" exclaimed Kise, admiring himself in a mirror. It was virtually unchanged from how it had been before the patch took place, though there was still a problem in maintaining it now that hair grew just like it did in RL.

"I'm gonna go get food, I'll be back in a few minutes", yawned Aomine as he trudged out the door and the dimensional gate. Murasakibara followed along for a while before they split ways toward their respective destinations. Realizing the purple-haired man went to buy snacks alone, Momoi, who was taking in some final images of her Cleric guildmate, offered to go follow the purple-haired giant so that he wouldn't spend too much. _Again_.

While this happened, Kuroko was in the process of having his flowing tresses expertly cut. After the Sorcerer finished with everyone else in the vicinity, Kise was the one who worked on his hair as he was the second most adept in this line of work.

Kuroko sat quietly, watching the two since everyone else had already left and Midorima was going over the budget plans from earlier.

"Tetsuya," Akashi suddenly addressed him in the middle of some trimming.

"Yes?"

"Have you noticed any changes to your weapon lately?"

"Hmm… no. Nothing major at least."

Somehow, the redhead seemed disappointed by this statement, but any sign of it quickly disappeared from his face the next second.

_Snip. Snip. Snip._

Locks of red hair floated to the ground and, after a minute or so, started to return to strips of data.

"Alright, I'm done!" the Bandit exclaimed triumphantly, proud of his handiwork.

"Hmm. The right side uneven and a bit longer than the left."

"Ack! You're right! Sorry!" Kise said, bowing in forgiveness and slapping his hands together as if praying.

Akashi's tone had a hint of playfulness when he said, "I don't mind, Ryouta. It is only hair, after all, and it will again with time. Hmm… Daiki should've been back by now. Shall we go find him?"

Kise perked up instantly. "Yeah~! Let's go find Aominecchi!", he threw the scissors onto a table they'd purchased and grabbed Midorima's arm–he was reluctant to go– and the four made their way to the Central Town. They decided to walk towards Maji Burger since they'd never seen Aomine eat anywhere else; he seemed to really like those teriyaki burgers.

"Hey, Midorimacchi, why do you still have those scissors with you?"

"It is my lucky item for the day, idiot," the bespectacled man huffed, pushing up his glasses by their bridge. He had said it as if it were common knowledge, some thing which the blonde complained about.

When they got to the restaurant and didn't find their tan-skinned friend inside, they opened up their guild window and found that, instead of eating like he said he would be doing, the tan-skinned man was outside the city in a monster map.

Akashi chanted out the words to one of his dimensional travel spells and transported the four of them to where they'd find him: a low-level area filled with weak, easily beaten creatures.

"_I wonder what Aomine-kun is doing there,_" Kuroko thought while being surrounded by the black void.

They arrived at the scene to see him, _Hakua_ in his hands, stance leaving no openings, and being charged at by an unfamiliar Warrior with a strong presence.

Kuroko took note of the Paladin's face, which more than anything was… excited.

Swords met, and steam hissed, rising from in between where they were in contact. The two figures each took a step back, but the distance was closed again as they exchanged a flurry of furious blows. Even though the other person was strong, (or at least strong enough to hold up against his attacks) it seemed that Aomine still had the upper hand due to his speed.

The Paladin smirked toward the other at he pushed him back. "Tired already?"

"Shut up!" the redhead fighting him growled, and then he retaliated, forcing himself forward with an equal amount of strength.

Their guild leader sighed lightly.

"Shintarou, scissors."

The Archer complied and handed him the pair.

_Midorima would even give up his lucky item to Akashi. That is surprising._

The heterochromatic-eyed man made his way to the two Fighters, who were so absorbed in their match that they hadn't noticed the arrival of the other four players.

"Daiki."

After he spoke, the two finally realized there were people intruding on their duel and stopped mid-slash. Both Fighters spun around to face the just-arrived redhead.

"Huh?" the unknown face uttered before glaring. "Who're you?"

And then Akashi lunged.

* * *

_Omake–Part three of the Unfortunate Tetsu-kun Series._

"Akashi-kun, do you have experience with cutting hair?"

"just a bit, but I can assure you of my skill," he had smiled, taking up one of the sharp cutting tools.

True to his words, it was only a matter of time before they had finally gotten their hair back to appropriate length.

But he had given them all bowl cuts.

* * *

This is the longest chapter so far~

_Is it just me, or is the number of people suffering growing with each Omake?_

Time for another secret: Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti. If you assign them number values from 1 to 7, La is 6, Do is 1, and Mi is 3. Ladomi=613. It comes from something I made in middle school, but it's too long to explain here and I'm sure no one wants to hear about my life.

Thank you for reading, constructive criticism and feedback are greatly appreciated~

GPS, AWAAAAaaaaayyyyyy~


	21. Chapter 19: Tiger & Virtual World

Here is GPS, bringing to you what I've nicknamed the "Super-extra-mega-long-out-of-nowhere-awesomesauce -gafoogletastic-Kagami chapter".

Wonderfully and dutifully betaed by Hayasaka Shion-san. I mean, seriously, it's an 8k long chapter.

To the Guest Reviewer. Thanks for liking this, first of all. Second of all, regarding Haizaki... I can't tell you guys things that would ultimately spoil huge plot points. But I will say it _might_ be a bit unexpected what I'll do with this in the future. The Winter Cup is still far away ;)

Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of this, but I don't own KnB.

* * *

_Chapter 19: Tiger & Virtual World _

* * *

Japan's official release date for Akashi Industries' latest project, _Kiseki World Online_, was April second of the year 2038.

As for all the other countries, they would have to wait just a little bit longer.

The day of its American release on the fourth, a man named Kagami Taiga sat camped out on the sidewalk adjacent a store that would be selling the game gear, in the hopes of snagging one before they sold out.

Thanks to the fact it early April and therefore still Spring Break for many American university students (though it was nearly the end), thousands of others crowded the walkways anticipating the shop's opening. Kagami himself had been waiting for the last six hours or so, and reportedly, it would be another before the place was open for business. He had been keeping himself occupied by eating or playing with one of his hand-held consoles for the majority of the time.

This man had also gone through this process when Akashi Industries had released their last game, _Teiko Revolution_–released in the States as "_Takeover Revolution_" (A terrible piece of wordplay, in Kagami's opinion)–a few years prior. After having gone through that, he knew exactly what to expect later today, except that it would probably be even worse.

When the glass doors slid open and the workers nervously announced the beginning of their day, he was ready. He and hundreds of others crowded into the establishment, and he pushed through the crowd with all his might to get to where the cashier's counters were.

Propelling himself forward was difficult in such a densely-packed wall of solid human, but sooner or later he managed to get near the front where the workers had strictly ordered that organized lines were to be formed. There would more waiting, along with making sure someone didn't try to sneak ahead of him while he wasn't looking, but it would all pay off once he got his hands on one of the game.

By the time he had overcome this ordeal and reached the outside where he could breathe in some fresh air, the 613 copies of _Miracle World Online_ were all sold out. As the redhead (his natural hair color) walked by, several people who couldn't even make it inside propositioned to double, triple, or whatever other number, multiply the amount of money he paid for the console. Of course, being the complete game enthusiast he was and considering how long he'd been anticipating this, he ignored them and made his way to the nearest registration building. Just like the store he'd just visited, this building was also over-populated and bustling.

The American Branch of Akashi Industries had rented many large, unused skyscrapers and other structures all around the states in which the game was being sold. The insides had been renovated on each floor to hold all the necessary equipment so that each procedure needed could be done in an efficient manner.

In another three hours or so, the nineteen year-old had made it through the waiting lounge, completed all of his tests and got OKed for game play, and returned to his home to set up the system and console. He was forced to take a break by his family, but after a quick nap and lunch, he was right back on it and gearing to go.

The redheaded man donned the helmet and let it run through the identification process, then said the needed phrase to enter the virtual reality.

Following the mindless action of skipping through all the instructions he didn't understand, he quickly created his character–a Beast type–and started having fun running rampant through the game's first monsters. Of course, since this was the first day it became increasing mobbed with other beginner players, but he didn't mind too much since he was busy with all the hacking and slashing and getting used to his virtual avatar.

The world spread out around him was bright and shining with no boundaries; he was so deep into his excursion that eight hours passed in the blink of an eye, and he was utterly disappointed when he was ejected from the game.

Heavily sighing, he removed the helmet and placed it onto his nightstand.

When he caught sight of the setting sun outside, he realized it was already late in the day.

And also that he was hungry.

And so, the redhead raided the fridge, took a shower, slept early, and went to one of his last shifts at work in the morning.

Two weeks later, Kagami is officially unemployed and preparing for his move back to Japan in another few days.

* * *

_Monday: April 23, 2038. 11:26 A.M._

Kagami maneuvered his way through the airport, looking for the belt conveyor that would be carrying out the bags. Being at the height he was (a bit more than six feet tall), he could easily peer over the crowd. He spotted the machine and began to walk toward it, but a finger tapped his shoulder and he turned around to a very familiar face."_Tatsuya! How have you been_?" he grinned, pulling a shorter raven-haired man into a tight hug.

"_It's great to see you, Taiga_", the other laughed out with slight rusty English.

Meet Himuro Tatsuya, Kagami's non-blood related "brother".

These two go way back–since elementary, in fact.

When they had first met as children, they had both lived in America in a city near the beach called Los Angeles. Since Kagami didn't have any friends as he was still learning English back then (Japanese was his primary language), Himuro, who was also originally from Japan, offered his friendship one day. They were basically joined at the hip from then on.

Like many kids, they ran around and played games, grew up a bit and played sports or found hobbies. A few years later, however, Kagami's parents moved back to Japan for reasons related to his mother's job as an executive for an advertising company. The relocation had been so sudden that he hadn't had the time or the means to ask for Himuro's contact information; he had never needed it before since they had only lived a block away from each other.

After settling into his new home in Tokyo a month later, Kagami had found their number online and called, but only got a dial tone back. He spent another two-or-so years residing there before he and his family needed to move once again–back to the same house he had spent most of his childhood in.

He had arrived and the first thing he thought to do was to run down the street in order to find Himuro's home, but when he got there, he found out that a young couple had set up residence while he was away.

At the age of fourteen, the redhead had searched all over, only to find eventually find out that Himuro had also moved about a year after he had. This time, however, he had gotten the other boy's family's number after visiting the couple once again and contacted him.

Kagami had remembered that the raven had been pretty shocked and surprised to get a call, as well as angry at the redhead for randomly disappearing for an entire two years without so much as a word of goodbye or a even a note or something. To be forgiven, it took months of sincere apologies and promises that it wouldn't happen again, and eventually his "big brother" took him back under wing. After that, many countless hours were spent catching up on their lives and anything of importance they'd happened to do in the last few years, such as getting a part-time job or a girlfriend for the first time.

Up until this day, they hadn't seen each other in person since childhood.

But finally, Kagami had decided to fly free from the bird's nest using an opportunity Himuro had given him. The other had recently moved out of his shared apartment into a 2LDK since his former house mate had recently gotten married. Since he knew Kagami had been looking for a chance to live alone and he too was looking for a place, he called up the redhead and killed two birds with one stone.

Those two bird expressions probably shouldn't have been used in the same paragraph, ahem-

"_Hmm, you've grown really tall since the last time I've seen you_", the noirette smiled, reaching up and ruffling the other's hair. It was a habit from his younger days and he had never broken it.

"_Well that's obvious… you've seen the pictures and stuff though._"

"_Yes, but it's different in real life_", the other replied, "_You're even taller than I am now_!"

"_I think I outgrew you back in middle school_."

Himuro laughed, "_It's probably because you eat so much". "Is that your luggage over there_?" he asked, motioning toward a set of bags he'd seen from the pictures sent before Kagami had boarded his flight. Kagami nodded and went to retrieve them, and after he did, the two walked out of the terminal to the road where they could hail a taxi.

"_It's too bad you have luggage with you. If not, we could've rode my motorcycle_", the black-haired man smiled, then he switched from English to Japanese as he told their driver of their destination.

The redhead grimaced. "_Not that deathtrap_._Besides, it's too small for two grown men to fit on it, you know?_"

Idle prattling filled the cab the entire way to the street their apartment complex was on.

The pair paid the fare and walked up the steps that led to their new place. Himuro had already moved most of his belongings from his previous lodgings the day prior, so it was pretty well furnished already. All that was left was for Kagami's things to arrive a few days later and he'd be set, but until then he'd be sleeping on an old futon.

"_That reminds me_", the shorter man said just as they were entering their humble abode, "_I've been so busy moving and filling out all the paperwork that I haven't greeted the neighbors yet. Want to come with me_?"

"_Could we do that tomorrow? I didn't get any sleep on the plane_", Kagami had muttered right before passing out on the couch; because it was way too small for him, his legs stuck out in an awkward manner.

Himuro chuckled to himself and decided to let the other have his sleep. Ten hour flights and thirty hours awake were bound to tire anyone out, after all.

Skipping ahead to the next twenty four hours, Kagami finds himself unintentionally staring down a very nervous and confused-looking teenager in the flat next to his.

"_Ah, hello… I'm Kagami Tai-_"

"_Speak in Japanese"_, Himuro had to remind him. He then turned to their neighbor and smiled, "My name is Himuro Tatsuya. We just moved into the apartment next to yours."

Kagami cleared his throat before repeating in Japanese, "I'm Kagami Taiga. Nice to meet you", and handing him a container of freshly-cooked lasagna. It was one of the few things he could make with the sparse diversity of ingredients they had in the cupboards. From the manga he'd read, it was rude to move somewhere without some kind of gift, but then again, he'd read those when he was a child and even _then_ they were from a few generations passed.

The brunette in front of him took the Tupperware with slightly shaky hands, somewhat intimidated by Kagami's stature and delinquent-esque facial features.

Nevertheless, he replied with good nature, "W-welcome. Sorry my flatmates and I don't have a housewarming gift for you, we didn't notice someone had moved in. We've all been sorta occupied the last couple of days."

"That's alright", Himuro replied, "Are they in?"

The stranger glanced inside before saying, "one of them went to work this morning and should've been back by now, but I guess he had something to do. My other friend is probably in his room but I think he's playing this new VR game that just came out."

"Do you mean _Kiseki World Online_?" Himuro asked curiously.

"Yeah, do you play it or something too?"

The black-haired man motioned toward Kagami and said, "We both do."

"Hmm, I see. You'd probably get along really well with my housemate then since he's a really bit fanatic about this kind of stuff. I'm not sure when he's gonna stop playing though."

"Well, that's fine. There will be other chances to meet in the future. If you don't mind, we're still in the process of greeting the other neighbors so we'll be taking our leave now."

"Oh, umm, sure. Thanks for the pasta by the way!" the brunette smiled before softly shutting the door.

"That wasn't too bad", was said to Kagami, even though he'd only said one sentence that entire conversation. "_How many more are there_?" the redhead asked.

"I don't think we have to bother with all the other floors, but there are three more on this one", was the reply. "Now that I think about it, we forgot to ask that guy's name."

"_We can ask later, let's just get this over with_."

"Japanese, Taiga. You should probably get used to it again."

"_I know already!"_ he grumbled as they knocked on the next door.

* * *

"What do you mean by that!?"

"I'm sorry sir, during the server conversion process, the machine jammed and the memory on this file has been corrupted. If you'd like, I could call up our master technician–he should still be in–and we can try to reimburse you."

Kagami hung his head low. All the items he had painstakingly quested or fought for over the last few weeks were gone. His only hopes now were that they could be restored. "That would be nice", he replied to the woman who'd been trying to convert his account files and dejectedly took a seat on a waiting bench while she made a call.

_My luck is so terrible…_

A few minutes later, the so-called "master technician" walked in through the door, which Kagami hadn't actually expected him to do.

"Something for me to do?" said the man who'd just walked in with a Cheshire Cat grin lining his face, "that's good, I was starting to get bored".

_Kansai-ben?_

The man who'd just walked in was only a few inches shorter than Kagami. He wore a stereotypical white lab coat, completely unbuttoned in front revealing some clothes that looked like they might've been bought at a bargain store. Maybe he was just trying to pass as "vintage" or _Harry Potter _or something, the redhead didn't know.

The man also wore thin-rimmed glasses over his eyes–did he have eyes?–Kagami couldn't tell if the other was just squinting, but he _seemed_ to be able to see. His hair looked a bit disheveled with strands sticking out here and there, but that also seemed like it might've been on purpose. Or maybe this guy just didn't own a comb. Also, for someone with such a high rank in this company, he looked very young; judging only by appearances, the two probably weren't too many years apart.

"So what's the problem?" the newly arrived man spoke. The woman from earlier told him of the predicament that had befallen the redhead and showed him her computer screen.

"Hmm… this is pretty bad", the bespectacled man murmured while analyzing the encrypted data, "I think I can still salvage at least sixty or seventy percent of the base character and items though."

"Can I leave that to you?" the woman asked.

"Sure, as long as you treat me to a cup of coffee later", the raven-haired man grinned again before setting to furiously assault the keyboard. He turned his head away from the screen, and still typing with completely accuracy, he said to Kagami, "I'll probably be done in half an hour at most. Until then, you can just sit over there-ah, you're already sitting."

He turned back to the screen. "My name is Imayoshi Shoichi, I'm one of the head programmers that worked on KWO. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

Kagami was a bit reluctant to reply; though this guy was all smiley and seemed care-free, he left a strange feeling in his gut. Now that he thinks about his gut, he's hungry again.

_I wonder if we had any leftovers in the fridge or something. Maybe I'll just visit a fast food joint before I go home._

A second later, he remembered he'd just been talked to and snapped out of his off-track thoughts to reply gruffly, "Kagami Taiga. Nice to meet you."

After that, no reply had been given back, so the silence was only filled by the clacking of fingers on keypads. Occasionally, however, the bespectacled man would ask about his character so that he could either restore or replace the features that'd been erased.

A mere twenty minutes later the black-haired man at the computer spoke, "I'm done with the hard part. Now I just need a new chip to transfer the files. By the way, I added some new items and features to your character if you don't mind, as a pay of compensating for the lost data. You can remove them if you'd like to, but I don't think they'd be much of a problem. Also, since you're transferring to this server, I had to change a few of your skills and items to their Japanese counterparts."

"That's fine", the red-haired man replied as he watched the other copy the data onto a new memory card and insert it into his gaming helmet. "That should do the trick, Kamagi-kun", Imayoshi smiled.

"… Kagami."

"Oh, my mistake", he handed over the device along with a small piece of hard candy and waved him goodbye. "I hope you enjoy your time in the game", was what the nineteen year-old heard last from him before he walked out the door.

_…That was weird.  
_

* * *

When Kagami had first logged into the Japanese _KWO_ server, he hadn't noticed any significant changes to his character. His appearance seemed to be almost exactly the same–the only difference being that the shape and color of his ears and tail had changed a bit. His level was set back a few and his stats were a slightly different as well, but the programmer from the other day had done a pretty good job getting everything pretty darn close to the original. There were even a few extra stat points as a bonus.

Next to check were his items.

His traced the air to make the window to appear and slid it in front of him, flipping through the different categories. His miscellaneous monster drops and potions were relatively unscathed, but either way, he could get those back easily if he needed to. Kagami then swallowed the lump in his throat as he switched to the next set of item slots: equipment.

The redhead's breath hitched when he saw the result.

At least a third of the weapons and armor he'd hunted for in the American server had been completely wiped from his inventory. Most of them had been rare event items or tournament-won equipment, so it would be impossible to get them again even if he were still back in the US. Being items with code that was more-or-less unique to the American server, they had been the most susceptible to corruption during the conversion.

Kagami closed the window so as not to disappoint himself further, and instead, replaced it with his skill archive.

It was a fair enough trade that his skills were switched for his foreign counterparts, but as they differed slightly, some of them would probably have to be completely re-learned before Kagami could use them comfortably and expertly in battle. Other had been erased and sadly, only skill points and a few extra slots were given as consolation.

This window was closed as well, and Kagami moved on to checking a blinking blue dot at the side of his person. In the American version, this color indicated a party or guild request, but since the red-haired man had logged-in just a minute ago, it couldn't have possibly been that. He tapped the circle with one of his fingers and watched as the message window was revealed.

_You have received 1 new message:_

_Imayoshi 05/01/38 4:16*_  
_Close message index.*  
**.**  
_

_**Imayoshi 05/01/38 4:16***__  
Close message index.*  
**.**  
_

_"You probably wouldn't mind too much, but I've added some items to your inventory to replace the damaged data. Take it as an apology from the management and I; it's set so that they'll appear after you read this message, or if your inventory is full, it'll be automatically put in storage. I'm sure you'll find them rather satisfactory."_

A second later, a long catalogue of random potions redhead had never heard of were listed off in front of him. When it finally finished with those, next came a few equipment items; a few of them were somewhat rare but most of them could be found through questing or bought in a store for a high price. Still, Kagami appreciated the effort.

_**…**_

{Kagami has obtained _Carmela's Ring of Promise__!}_

{Kagami has obtained _Steel Plating__!}_

{Kagami has obtained a _Unique Item__!}_

{Kagami has obtain-

_Wait, what?_

Switching the tab from _Use _to _Equipment_, Kagami scrolled down until he could find this so-called, "Unique Item". Sure, he had heard about them before–about the fact that there were six-hundred thirteen available in the Japanese server and that most of the other countries only had about half of that–but he hadn't expected to be lucky enough to _actually get one_. And he wasn't sure, but there were rumors that all of them had been discovered already. Blood-red eyes scanned for the items that came before it as a marking, and before long, he had found it in a slot near the bottom of his inventory.

Arguably, might've been one of the most life-changing moments in Kagami's gamer history, but no one would know it yet.

"Equip _{Hikuni}"_

What materialized from a small flare of light was what appeared to be a shining long sword, like the one he'd had before his data got corrupted. Its hilt was a bright bronze color–gold in the sunlight–and had ruby-red gems adorning the spot where it met blade. Two sides of the handle flared outward in several directions, and the shape reminded Kagami of a blazing sun.

Speaking of blazing, _**holy god, the fucking thing was on fire.**_

As he was currently holding it with one hand on blade and the other around its hilt, the beast-man got ready to drop the weapon so as to not burn himself. What was strange, however, is that even when they touched on his skin, he didn't feel any pain–not even heat.

He wondered if it had anything to do with the fact he had chosen fire as his main element after becoming a Fighter. Or maybe it was just some kind of strange glitch from it being transferred to his account. The redhead could not be certain.

It only boggled him further when the flames disappeared without a trace a half a minute later.

And so did the blade.

The confused Level 40 Warrior stood there, dazed.

It would be the two days later before he finally learned how to use this weapon. With the help of other intelligence, of course–because as you may or may not know, Kagami Taiga is not a very smart man.

But for now, he equipped a different weapon and rampaged through the monsters in the server.

* * *

_Friday: May 3, 2038. 8:13 P.M._

Our red-headed Warrior… is in quite the pickle right now.

Let's start with the events from earlier today, shall we?

When Kagami had woken up this morning, the first things he'd done was use the bathroom, eat, and then take out the piled-up garbage Himuro and he had accumulated over the last week. He'd greeted one of the nice old ladies that lived in the apartment complex and helped her with shopping and carrying back bags; it was partially because he had needed to go as well, but he also found it hard to ignore someone in need of help.

After returning home to restock the cupboards and fridge, do a couple chores, and grab his bag, he journeyed back out into the wide city streets with one objective in mind:

Job hunting.

Back in America, he'd worked in a pizza place, a karaoke joint, a couple of random short-lived jobs, and sometimes as a babysitter. A lot of people had been scared off by his face and initial roughness, but after a while he became well-known in his neighborhood for being a very upstanding and kind young man who climbs trees to save kittens.

After failing half of his courses the first year of college, Kagami found himself thinking he wasn't suited for it and dropped everything altogether. Instead, he got a working permit and decided he would pursue something that didn't require a degree in the future, though he still hadn't figured out exactly what. In the mean time, that's when he had taken up several part time jobs.

During the next few hours, the redhead spent a lot of time on his phone or prowling around searching for any stores and shops that had openings and would hire a youth like him. Obviously, this kind of thing wasn't easy, but he expected to at least have a chance of getting a reply back from one of ten or twenty he'd applied for; his chances might've been significantly lowered though, considering the facts that he had difficulty with some of the language and that no one here knew about him or his reputation back in LA. It wasn't his fault he had red hair, sharp eyes, and was over six feet tall.

Once his watch ticked past four, Kagami decided to give up for the day and return home where he found a note saying Himuro would be home late and didn't need dinner. You wouldn't guess by appearances, but Kagami is the better cook of the two.

After making himself a meal (which pretty much cleared an entire shelf from the fridge and cabinet), he took a long relaxing bath. Around six was when he donned the _KWO_ VR helmet and waited through the initiating sequence.

"_Dive into the virtual world."_

_Is it broken? Oh wait…English. Almost forgot._

"Dive into the virtual world."

The last time Kagami had logged-out, he'd left himself in the Rogue's city of the third island, _Caldina_, so as to be ready for a different kind of hunt than earlier.

This afternoon, the redhead was aiming for some rare monster drops he had heard about a few days ago online. Apparently, they were mostly enhancement items that would boost the stats of any weapon by two or three times. Only one group so far had gone so far as to find and fight the monster that dropped this item, however, so there wasn't much known about it.

This boss, if the pictures on the internet were accurate, was a giant Leopard called a "_Mutolupus"_. The map the monster resided in became available after the feature of different phases of the day was applied–it could only be entered after the world's sun started to set. The maps there, all being Night time maps, were teeming with aggressive hordes of lesser monsters that would make short work of most adventurers.

But I'm sure you've guessed by now that Kagami is _not_ your average player.

The road to the creature's domain was a long and difficult one; the redheaded man had to traverse through rivers, caverns, and over cliffs while slicing through the ended stream of monsters out for his blood. Not many people trained in these areas due to the danger levels; in fact, several had died right in front of the Beast-man's eyes. It just goes to show how merciless they could be.

This was actually Kagami's first time experiencing "night" in Kiseki World. Since he had to move and all, an almost two week hiatus was taken from playing; during that time, the patch had been implemented. When he'd played yesterday, he had logged out before the afternoon had ended to unpack his belongings that had finally been sent over.

In his experience so far, he was only having minor difficulties, mostly due to slightly darkness-impaired vision and the fact that the monsters were all swarming him.

It was about two hours later (which was actually record time) when he finally arrived at the Leopard boss' domain.

A glittering full moon had rose high in the sky earlier, but it was now obscured by dark clouds that almost looked as if they promised rain.

At a time like this, it was rather lucky that his second element was _Light_. Many people chose this as a secondary because many of the skills were great support, buffs, or just plain useful. In this case particularly, a skill available to any class lets a small glowing beacon float around and illuminate anything in a radius that corresponded to the amount of Mana exchanged. Though Kagami didn't have too much MP as he was a Fighter-type and all, it was better than being attacked without the moment's notice of sight giving him time to defend himself.

Already, he could hear the growls of creatures permeate through the air from all around him.

_Why aren't they attacking?_

And then from his front, it slowly appeared as if it were waiting for him this entire time.

The creature stood with the grace of a king, claws sharpened and coat wildly flowing in the cold winds that blew past; its golden fur shimmered under the floating lantern's light. Its paws were huge. Its entire body was huge, actually, but Kagami had expected _that_ since it was standard for most bosses in this game.

The only problem was that this giant leopard wasn't a leopard.

It was a lion.

And again, Kagami is confused. The picture and reports from the group that excavated this area had definitely said "Leopard", and this creature was way too big to just be a standard monster with no special powers.

_Maybe it's just a difference in servers. That forum post was American, so they might've just re-skinned it for some reason…_

His gaze followed the feline as it circled him, cautious while it looked for a chance to strike–it must have had a high-level AI.

Kagami got ready to strike first, but before he could, a shape leapt from the darkness behind him; he could hear it shift the air. He knocked the minion creature away with his sword, and in that time, the _Mutolupus_ took advantage of the fact he was occupied and pounced toward him with a loud snarl.

He couldn't evade fully, but in return for the claw marks in his shoulder, he gave the overgrown cat a bloody cut down one of its hind legs. It looked at him for a second and paused, and with a mighty roar it then quickly skulked back into the darkness. The swordsman would have followed the creature, but something else quickly replaced it.

Now, instead of a lion, it was a… a deer?

_Didn't this game already have deer earlier?_

This monster was smaller and weaker than the last, but it was still much larger than your average stag. Though it wasn't as strong, it was more agile and with more precise attacks. Its long, branching antlers prevented Kagami from getting his sword near it by normal means, so he started to unleash his skills with a non-stop combo skill that completely shattered one of them. Then, he narrowly avoided it when it used an explosive dark spell and almost blew off one of his shoulders.

It let out a loud cry and, before he knew it, his back was pinned to the ground by a large, patterned paw.

But Kagami being Kagami would not let something like this stop him. With a movement similar to a push up, he lifted himself (along with the gigantic feline on him) with enough force that the creature was startled and forced off.

"All right, that's it! I'm going to kill both of you, you stupid lio…pard?"

No; it wasn't a lion anymore. What had taken its place was what had been originally promised, a gigantic, spotted leopard. It picked itself up and moved so that it was lined up with Kagami and the other boss.

_The blood on the ground… is from a wound on its leg. That's where I hit that lion from earlier! This isn't right. What's going on here!?_

How much did this game have to perplex his low-capacity mind before it was satisfied with how much it was deteriorating from trying to piece things together?

Apparently, even more.

Both the deer and leopard let out a crying wail and a low snarl, respectively. It was now that the truth started to unfold before the red-haired man's eyes. Their colors of their fur darkened to match the shades of the still night, and while doing so, their bodies violently convulsed. Kagami watched as they morphed into new shapes, and while getting ready to fend off what they were becoming, he came to one simple conclusion:

_I will never trust the internet ever again…_

To the Beast-man's horror, both of the _Mutolupus_' changed into wolves. The one with the bloodied leg raised its neck and proceeded to howl toward the game's moon, and Kagami guessed it was magic because the clouds blocking it shifted away from view. What he saw when the moon lit up the map almost made him pass out right then and there.

If he had known it was liked this, he would have never attempted coming here. With the light shining down on the map, he could now see the entire region spotted with his worst nightmare: dozens and dozens of undomesticated canine creatures of every kind scattered all around, following his every little movement. Curse his nearly-irrational fear of dogs.

Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, the other _Mutolupus_ howled as well, and the entire pack's status became active-aggro rather than the passive they'd been before. They bristled up their fur, eyes glinting with savage intent as they began to close in from every direction.

Kagami couldn't move.

He couldn't even breathe.

Perhaps if he weren't so petrified, he'd have a chance to do something like run or fight back, but he was too utterly terrified by just about everything here that he couldn't even try.

They tackled him from behind, gnawing at his equipment-clad body while he stood there and tried to convince himself to think happier thoughts. Not like this game would let him though, because one of the _Mutolupus_ picked him up in its huge jaws and bit down hard, and his armor began to crack little-by-little under the immense pressure of it all–this is the pickle I was talking about earlier, by the way. Sooner or later, the metal plates and chainmail were shattered, and the redhead could feel the wolf's canines sinking into his flesh, drawing out blood and doing more damage the longer they clamped down.

_[-1,651 HP, Kagami: {62,283/88,040}]_

_[-2,766 HP, Kagami: {59,517/88,040}]_

_[-4,284 HP, Kagami: {55,233/88,040}]_

What was merely a few seconds later and the Beast-man's HP was already dangerously low; in the red, in fact._  
_

_"This is where I die_", was the last thing the redhead thought dramatically before he was suddenly thrown onto the floor to roll in the dirt.

"You okay?" he heard someone's voice ask.

Kagami lifted his head and saw a group of players, around five or six of them, keeping the hostile creatures at bay.

A brunette girl turned and looked down at him; by the looks of her equipment, she was probably some kind of Mage. "Sorry for not saving you earlier, we were seeing what the monsters would do", she informed him before starting to cast some kind of high-level AOE.

Of the rest of the people in the party, Kagami could count that at least two of them were Fighters (being one himself, he could recognize it more easily), but the rest were debatable. If they were following him earlier, though, there must've been some kind of Hunter or Rogue subclass in there with a tracking skill of some sort.

The two bosses from earlier were each attacking a member of this group, and were constantly changing into different forms to better combat them. The rest of the party was balancing bringing down their HP from the sides and killing the annoying minion wolves.

Their teamwork was an expert thing; perhaps they've known each other for a long time.

Kagami's blood boiled. He raided his potion stock, giving himself a full HP heal. He equipped some new armor, jumped back onto his feet, and took a running start toward one of the shape-shifting wolf bosses. He was no longer afraid as it had transformed into some kind of weird mutant-elephant with a broken tusk (courtesy of himself from before).

He activated one of the skills exclusive to his class which, coupled with his own latent abilities, allowed him to push off the ground with amazing force.

His class, the "_Knight"_ class, was one that didn't normally exist in this server. One of the reasons his skills may not have been corrupted the other day may have been because of the fact that the American Knights shared much of the same formatting with the Japanese Paladins; they were the same on most of the basic levels, after all. At one point, the skills which had been meant for both were probably split and these two became separate options in different countries.

The group that was tailing him watched him launch up into the air to an extremely high height and subsequently fall at an unbelievable rate, arms outstretched and sword ready for action. The blade came down with him as he fell, cutting through the _Mutolupus' _thick flank cleanly–if you could call it cleanly; there was blood everywhere. The surrounding ground was cracked, and some of the members of the other party could feel the shockwave of the blow even at a good distance away.

It was too bad that this skill was extremely strenuous, otherwise he would use it more. He plowed forward toward the beast, which changed back into a stag and started blasting off all sorts of elemental attacks at him. The Knight dodged each one or deflected them away with his sword. As the monster had low HP, all that was needed now was a set of ferocious combos and well la. Dead.

"Hmph, not bad for someone who was cowering for dear life a minute ago", a bespectacled Hunter sneered at him as he shot off some arrows.

A man with a shaved head apologized, "sorry, he gets like that when fighting sometimes", before helping take on the other boss. He and two others–one of which didn't look very experienced by the way he held himself–were all taking turns striking the beast, which seemed specialized in morphing into big felines among other things.

It took a few minutes, but with the help of all the members of their party, they defeated the creature with minimal casualties on their HP.

The moment both bosses had been defeated, Kagami's vision could see only red blotting out any sense of serene tranquility which had lasted for a mere moment. The moon in the sky had become a dark crimson, and it shone eerily onto the grassy and rocky hills of the map covering everything in range.

_"What now!?_ ", the redhead thought. I mean, come on. They had finally finished killing off both of those bosses and all the smaller ones on the side and there was still _more_?

Some birds flew away for effect, squawking as a shadow emerged from a small patch of forest near the map.

Perhaps those people on the internet didn't get this far–either that or they withheld the information–but this definitely was not written in the forums.

The shape was another wolf, even more enormous than the two bosses preceding, and Kagami nearly felt like he could start crying. With a deafening howl, it stood up on its two legs and its entire body vibrated. Limbs became more elongated, every more muscular, and snout growing short.

_Ah… I get it. A Werewolf. This must be the Alpha of the group._

Well, now that it just looked like a really hairy muscular dude, it was no longer terrifying; big mistake on the monster's part.

Some of the people from the party next to him sent him sly little smiles and smirks; silent challenges that he just couldn't ignore.

_"You're on_", he mentally sent back with his own equally-cocky expression. In a second or two, the die was cast.

With not a single hint of hesitance, they all proudly charged onto the battlefield.

This was the meeting between Kagami and the party that would become his future guild, _Seirin_.

* * *

_Saturday: May 5, 2038. 2:42 P.M._

An NPC waiter walked by, tray piled high with mountain of freshly-made cheeseburgers, waiting to be unwrapped.

Who were these for?

If you guessed a certain Kagami Taiga, you guessed right.

When this day began, he had been surprised to log into the game and find that his hair was long, luscious, and shiny. Not only him, but his entire guild and just about every other player in the game had been subjected to this strange patch's occurrence. Since they had a limited time having this many members of their guild on at the same time (seven of them), they skipped the salon. Instead, they cut their hair themselves with store-bought scissors.

Kagami had just finished off a grueling training session under the command of his guild's "coach". Since he was done earlier than the rest of them, he was waiting for them in the town's _Majiba_ while taking a break from whatever else Riko had in store. His leg muscles were a big overexerted and his torso was covered in bold peck marks, each one a stinging red dot. He supposed it was what he deserves for going along with the brunette woman's suggestion and fighting flying monsters as a Warrior with few ranged skills.

He had to admit though, it was rather effective; as of now, he could jump at least two or three meters higher than he could a day ago.

He was also learning to control his blade, and instead of letting the flames flare out and disrupt everyone else's pace, he could now concentrate it into a solid blade that did more damage.

This unique weapon, _Hikuni__, _was one that allowed him to continuously use strong fire magic without having to sacrifice MP. Though he had difficulty with it, he could also change its shape at will (though he preferred a long sword over anything else). The light red blade was a destructive thing, however, and would burn even allies if they got too close–the only one unaffected was the redhead himself.

__With his worn-out body resting on a cushioned seat, Kagami began to dig into the burgers that had been placed in front of him. Oh, how glad he was that _KWO _had decided to add food to the game.

"These are the best", he said to himself out loud, savoring the taste of his juicy, delicious beef patty.

"Hmmm, I like the teriyaki burgers better."

When Kagami turned his head to the side, he saw a tan-skinned, blue-haired man munching away at his preferred meal with a bored expression. His table had three more burgers and some fries lined up on it, each one with a color that signified "teriyaki".

"No, the cheeseburgers are definitely better tasting", was what Kagami determinedly replied back, taking a bite of his burger as if to prove it.

"Haa? You must be joking. Teriyaki is way better."

_**…**_

"Not at all, _ganguro_."

"G-Ganguro!? You're one to talk, _eyebrows_."

After poking these sensitive issues, veins popped on both men's heads, and the rest of the patrons in the restaurant were sure electricity was crackling somewhere.

"You wanna take this outside!?"

"Sure, I'll kick your ass!"

You see, this is what happens when you leave two idiots alone with no adult supervision.

The two put their food into inventory and made their way to a low-level map outside town; they didn't want to be interrupted by strong monsters by chance. Both men equipped their swords, and were surprised to see that they were extremely similar in the fact that they were just handles with no blade.

"Eh? So you have a unique weapon too? This should be at least a little bit entertaining then," the bluenette man arrogantly proclaimed and activated his weapon.

_Water…_

Snarling and grinding his teeth, Kagami followed the action. He was the one who made the first move with a low, running crouch and a subsequent diagonal slash.

The other Warrior dodged and grabbed his weapon with both hands, powerfully bringing his sword straight down with the goal of a critical strike.

Kagami parried, however, but was forced downwards by the sheer force. His legs were still too shaky from training earlier to be able to withstand such a thing fully, and he mentally cursed.

He braced himself as he was blown back, feet clinging to the earth in an attempt to gain balance.

_This guy is strong…_

Deciding that it would be okay since no one else got into the way, the redhead let the fiery blade of his sword spread out in a dazzling cloud to surround the other. In response, the other did the same, but with a mist of water. They both took a strong leap toward the middle of their imaginary ring and two elements… clanged.

It had surprised both of them; when they touched, their weapons had gone back to a fully-solid state instead of staying as they were.

Well, neither dwelled on it long. Being the fighting junkies they were, this was pushed to the back of their minds as they started to attack each other in frenzied blows. Before long, it was becoming clear that this other dude was, as much at Kagami hated to admit, stronger. But of course, he wouldn't give up just because of that.

"Your name?" the man suddenly asked him in the middle of a literal power struggle.

"Kagami Taiga."

"Aomine Daiki."

Aomine had this almost crazed-smile on his face when he they started to perform high-speed slices , and Kagami held out the best he could but cuts still appeared all over his un-armored skin. The Paladin and the Knight's weapons met once again, and Kagami could feel himself sliding on the loose soil underneath his feet.

"Tired already?"

"Shut up!" he growled indignantly. With irritation refueling his fighting spirit, he demanded that his aching leg muscles push back through sheer willpower. It was working at least; especially since Aomine hadn't expected him to be able to do that and was caught off guard. The Paladin removed his sword and jumped back before beginning to slash at the redhead again; Kagami concentrated only on matching his strikes so as to not sustain any more harm. This went on for a few seconds before the two heard an interrupting voice.

"Daiki."

Putting down his weapon, Kagami glared at a crimson-haired man who'd appeared next to them. He growled at this shorter man and demanded, "Who're you?"

The smaller man's dual-colored eyes were wide open yet still glaring with amazing intensity–something like a dormant volcano on the verge of erupting after thousands of years. This newcomer started to speak to him, tone low enough so that only Kagami, being the closest person, could hear the infuriated words under his breath.

_"That weapon should not exist._"

And then, with a pair of red scissors in hand, he lunged.

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Skills & Spells Slots_

_After a certain amount, the number of slots a person has for skills can go no higher. It depends on what class a person chooses, or what kind of items they may have that allow them more. The higher-level class a person becomes, the less skills they are allowed to have._

_Mages have the most slots as they rarely have physical skills, and Fighters have the least. The different arch-types also have a different amount of slots available for use, so it is usually recommended to study a class before choosing it._

* * *

Next time, we return to the GoM and finally move ahead of this scene.

Sorry updates are slower recently, but please keep in mind the chapters used to be only around 2 and I didn't have a beta until like, chapter 8 or 9.

I might've said this before, but author's notes are always written up on the spot, along with Omake or extras and the title of these chapters. :D

Thank you for reading, GPS is a happy idiot.


	22. Chapter 20: Challenge & Contemplation

Sorry this took so long~

This is betaed by Hayasaka Shion-san~ (good for you, because sometimes, grammar fails me)

mj: World-building is fun. But complicated. Haha. Butt. I should stahp and reply seriously. Thank you, it's much appreciated and I'm happy that you're liking this XD

Guest: I believe this is the first time I've made someone speechless. This called for a celebration. /pulls out confetti. As always, plot before romance (or romance tied into plot) I like putting in really subtle hints of it XD

"_VM_" stands for video message.

Disclaimer: _Insert witty disclaim of KnB here _

* * *

Chapter 20: Challenge & Contemplation

* * *

The dull blade shot forward, but Kagami lifted his heavy legs and narrowly dodged to the side. A slightly sharp pain resonated from his cheek, and a second later, the redhead found that a thin crimson line was trickling down and dripping to the floor.

"What are you doing!?" the Fighter asked, though the other didn't seem to care about what was being said to him–not even in the slightest. The only response Kagami got was the same as what he had said earlier, repeated over in an almost incomprehensible murmur and drowned out by the sound of displaced air. The scissors were once again raised and Kagami had to work on dodging the barrage of attacks carried out by this stranger, making sure he wouldn't have a new hole forming anywhere on his body.

It didn't make much sense to him; Aomine was much faster and stronger, and Kagami had done a pretty good job at dodging most of his blows, so why was he having such a hard time with this guy? Judging by his equipment, he was probably a Mage, so it made even less sense. The taller man found himself being pushed back at an alarming rate as he maneuvered away from the scissor's blades again and again.

Aomine and the other members of the _GoM _that were present watched the two redheads; confused as to why this turn of events was happening, they could only gawk and stare at the high-speed exchange. The first to snap out of his stupor was Midorima, who cursed to himself before running after the two. Akashi had been in the process of stabbing his weapon through the air, aiming for Kagami's neck but only drawing some blood from his shoulder.

When the green-haired man reached the two, he grabbed onto the smaller man's arm, stopping him from trying to plunge his weapon into straight the other's head; he could feel his muscles strain against the force of the interrupted blow and tightened his grip. Akashi tried to struggle and continue his pursuit of Kagami's life, and in his craze he swung the weapon backwards, knocking the pair of glasses his guild mate had been wearing to the ground.

"Stop this, Akashi!" Midorima spoke commandingly,"calm down!" and it seemed to be loud enough to permeate through the haze of fury clouding the Elf's mind.

When the others in the guild caught up to the trio, both redheads had finally stopped moving and were breathing heavily–one from exhaustion, the other from rage.

Feeling the Sorcerer's arm finally go lax, Midorima released his hold of the pale wrist and watched it fall to the former's side. The redhead looked down, not moving until suddenly-

_Snip._

The sound continued, and locks of scarlet red hair fell for the second time that day.

"Akashicchi!? What are you doing? D-did you hate my haircut that much!?" and, "Oi, Akashi!" were said, though the cutting didn't stop for another minute or two. When Akashi finally looked up, his hair was shortened a great deal and styled perfectly, but disregarding these facts, no one could deny that this was exceptionally eccentric behavior–especially coming from someone like him.

The furious expression that had overtaken him earlier was replaced by a slightly cold gaze, and he turned to Kagami who flinched in anticipation of another attack.

Instead of that, however, the Mage standing in front of him just smiled a very gentlemanly smile which greatly confused Kagami to no end. Akashi cleared his throat, and in that moment, it seemed like the nearly-murderous assault he'd just perpetrated hadn't happened at all–Kagami almost thought he could've been hallucinating if not for the fresh cut wounds he'd just received all around.

"I apologize for the sudden outburst", the heterochromatic-eyed man spoke calmly while handing Midorima his scissors back. The green-haired man began to sharpen them to a fine edge once more (they were his lucky item, after all).

"Haa!?" was the only noise Kagami make; he was unable to articulate due to the events that had transpired just moments ago. When he finally found his voice he angrily shouted, "What did you mean about this weapon!? Why did you attack me?" while reaching for Akashi's collar. Unfortunately for him, he was interrupted by his ass being literally kicked and his body slamming to the ground.

A second later, he was squirming furiously to try escaping the terror of what the Japanese call "Sasori-gatame".

Also known as a Scorpion Death-lock.

A young woman stared down at him, eyes glowing wickedly when she said in a lighthearted and sweet tone (though hell could be seen in the background), "Why weren't you waiting at the restaurant? We had to wait and look for you, you idiot! Then when we got into Izuki's range, we found out that you're just fighting some random dude and then being attacked by another. The least you could've done was won!"

"He...H-help", the big redhead managed to choke out as he raised an arm in mercy to his other just-arrived guild members. They shook their heads, not wanting to enter the warzone for fear of their limbs and pride, along with the fact that Riko had already given them a fair-share of verbal abuse during their tiger-hunt.

_"You jerks!"_ Since the air in his lungs was nearly non-existent, he glanced at them to send the telepathic message. They all turned away even though they felt sorry for the redhead; it couldn't be helped when Riko's wrestling holds were involved. The torture lasted a full half-minute, and it was enough to make Kagami want to give up on any attempt moving for the rest of the day–especially after all the other intense work-outs he'd already gone through.

When the brunette woman was done, she removed herself from the unmoving body on the ground and patted her hands against each other.

She turned toward Akashi with a bright and warm smile. Taking a second to study the others closely, she questioned slowly, "You guys… are _Generation of Miracles_, aren't you?"

The redheaded man returned her expression with his charming smile and replied, "Indeed, I am flattered that you have heard of our name. Allow me to introduce myself properly; my name is Akashi Seijuurou, the founder and leader of this guild."

"I'm Aida Riko, and the members present are part of our guild, _Seirin_. Our guild-master isn't here right now, so in the meantime, Hyuuga here is taking his place," she informed, pointing toward an averagely tall man with spectacles. She extended a dainty hand and continued, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I see you are already acquainted with one of our members."

Akashi grabbed her hand, and the two exchanged a very firm and professional handshake. Kuroko thought he was watching the affirmation of a contract in a very important business meeting and not an arbitrary meeting between two guilds.

The Cleric broke away from the two who, even though had happy grins plastered on, seemed to be caught in a fierce mental battle in which both sides would not back down. He walked toward the other redhead on the ground and began to cast a high-level healing spell–one that helped alleviate exterior wounds and fatigue as well as damage done to HP.

Kagami was confused as a glowing magic circle appeared below him, enveloping him in a white light and slightly pacifying his aching muscles, tendons, and making his health bar shoot back up to full capacity.

When the feeling came back to his legs, he immediately jumped onto his feet, perplexed (though when has he _not_ been?). His guild didn't have a Healer of any kind, not to mention anyone with a spell that potent. He concluded that the other party must have had one, though when he looked around, the only people he could see that classified as Mages were the two still locked in a death-grip handshake.

He jumped and let out a surprised grunt when he felt something touch his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

That voice... it sounded familiar; he was sure he'd heard it before…

Turning around, he came face-to-face with a pale bluenette who stared up at him with wide, ocean-blue eyes.

"K-K-Kuroko!?" he stuttered, back and arms automatically hunched up in an apprehensive and surprised stance, "what are you doing here!?"

"I am a member of this guild, Kagami-kun."

The members of their respective factions turned their attentions on the two.

Aomine looked back and forth between this unlikely pair, "You two know each other?"

A few feet away, a pair of yellow and red eyes narrowed slightly. "Is that true, Tetsuya?"

The Cleric craned his neck in their general direction and blinked once before replying, "Yes. He has recently become my neighbor in real life."

"Hmm, I see," Akashi nodded.

The seven members of the _Seirin _guild that were currently in the map glanced at each other before a certain cat-like man pranced around the short bluenette and looped an arm around Kuroko's neck. He then began to talk about their guild's recent ventures and toils, too quickly for the Cleric to understand him completely coherently.

To the side, Riko (whose stalemate with Akashi had finally ended) gave a small, genuine grin and laughed, "If you were there, you should have said something!" before she too walked toward him. Of the people there, the only Kuroko could not recognize was a man with spiky hair and small yet wide eyes. He was a member that wasn't there when he'd first met them in the outskirts of _Tolucini_.

"Eh? You know these people, Kurokocchi? Oh wait, aren't these the one from that _VM_!? Don't tell me they're trying to poach you again!"

"You can relax", Riko declared while mussing up Kuroko's sky-blue locks, "he already gave us a definite answer the other day."

Kise sparkled and sang, "So you'll be staying, right?"

"Yes, Kise-kun. Also, I would appreciate if you did not do this, Koganei-kun, Riko-san", said the Cleric as he tried to free himself out of the teasing gesture and head-hold. "Sorry, sorry", they said before snickering a bit at his hair, which now resembled the kind a hardcore shounen manga protagonist would have. Perhaps he should start carrying combs around–thanks to the new patch, he was sure they'd have them.

Then Mitobe _actually_ pulled a comb from his inventory and handed it to the victimized Elf, who took it graciously with a faint smile and polite, "thank you".

A few paces away, Izuki's first words upon arrival were said when he looked at Midorima and his now knife-edged scissors. "You are looking… quite _sharp _today–a _cut_ above the rest", he had punned (though this was his first time even seeing the Bowman). Hyuuga then proceeded to tell him in a despondent and detached tone, "Izuki, go buy some pork buns–_and never come back_".

A moment later, with a metaphorical light bulb above his head, Kagami suddenly exclaimed, "Oh yeah! We never got to finish our match!"

Aomine's mouth was shaped into a confident smirk, "Let's go!"

As the Beast Fighter marched forward, however, a rough hand grabbed onto one of his furry ears and stopped his advance to a lurch.

"Where do you think _you're_ going? We have other things to do." Hyuuga sighed.

"But I haven't finished this fight yet! Just give me fifteen–no–ten minutes!"

"Listen to your senpai, brat", came the reply.

Riko slapped his back, and the redhead was sure an angry rose-colored hand print had appeared underneath his cloth equipment. "Give up Kagami. I've already scanned these guys, and right now, they're way out of your league. Try again when you're _at least_ the same level".

From her, the argument was sound.

"Besides," she kicked one of his still-tired calves, "you aren't even in your best condition."

Kagami winced at the pain but held his ground, refusing to fall again even though one of his knees had caved. "But-"

Her eyes once again flashed, "**You still want to fight**?"

"N-no."

Behind him, the _GoM's_ resident Paladin held a hand to his stomach while hunched over, uncontrollably laughing at the redhead who'd turned rather meek under her satanic gaze.

He shut up when the woman turned her glare toward _him_.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but we have some other matters to attend to", the brunette woman announced cheerily as she started walking away. She only turned back once with a smug look to say, "We should meet again; next time, at the Winter Cup". The rest of _Seirin_ followed her lead, though Kagami kept glancing back every few seconds until they finally left the vicinity of the map, left unsatisfied after being unable to finish his match with tan-skinned man.

Aomine began eating one of the burgers he couldn't finish earlier. "Tch, teriyaki is way better."

"Hmm? Did you say something, Aominecchi?"

"Nothing. Anyways, why were you guys doing here?"

"We could have asked you the same question, although we already know the answer. Obviously, we came here to find you since you were taking too long", Midorima expressed in that "I-am-above-you" tone of his.

Away from the three taller members, Kuroko approached Akashi from the side. The redheaded male seemed to be thinking about something; a hand was placed on his chin in a thoughtful manner and his eyes were closed.

"Yes, Tetsuya?"

The golden left eye opened up and returned his unfaltering stare.

"Akashi-kun, could you please tell me what that was earlier?"

He crossed his arms. "Specifically?"

"I aware by now that you are smart enough to comprehend my question fully, but what I want to know is why you attacked Kagami-kun; there was no reason for you to do so."

Akashi smiled that usual well-practiced, cordial grin of his.

"If I need a reason, then it was merely a test. It's not very often that we would find a guild with members who potentially rival ours, and I wanted to experience his strength for myself."

Though this sounded almost ridiculous, it also seemed to hold a hint of truth. There was definitely something else though–some much larger problem underlying this entire scenario that Kuroko could not yet understand. Something the redhead was hiding deep beneath the surface of appearances and indecipherable falsehoods that he seemed oh-so adamant on holding his words to.

But the bluenette would not pry.

He has come to believe the other Mage had his own motives for this that may not be appropriate to speak about in this world, along with the fact that he knows he would not be able to win in a psychological bout. Kuroko was closer with this man than he first suspected he'd become and respected him highly, but in no way was he close enough to be able to get the redhead to talk, and so he left it at that. Perhaps in time he'd get his answer, but for now he'd quietly observe.

Their guild leader opened up a dimensional gate back to town, and the five entered to appear in the town square where they found Murasakibara handling some kind of marsh-mellow candies and Momoi sitting next to him. They both looked up at the rest of the group.

"Aka-chin, Kuro-chin, do you want some?" the Berserker asked, holding out the crinkled bag. They both declined the offer. When Kise tried reaching for one, his hand was slapped away by the giant who said, "Kise-chin, that's bad. You aren't supposed to take it when I didn't say you could."

Undoubtedly, the blonde wept.

Beside the purpleheaded man, their pinkette Spy smiled prettily, "I checked your locations and you weren't at the guild, so I thought you'd appear here". Dusting herself off, she hopped to a standing position from the side of the mountain. "We have a match in about an hour, shall we go do some last-minute training?"

Later that day was another total victory.

* * *

_Saturday: May 5, 2038. 6:20 P.M._

Three men from the _Generation of Miracles_ walked, pacing around on the far left side of the island where they'd just beaten the map's boss. No, it was not our usual yellow and blue trio; right now we're focusing on some of the other members of our lovely brigade.

Midorima opened his mouth to try to speak–to ask a similar question as what Akashi had received from Kuroko earlier–but was interrupted by Murasakibara stating a random fact of his day.

"Hey Aka-chin, today I got candy from Muro-chin._"_

The redhead cocked his head a bit toward the other's face. "Who is this 'Muro-chin' you speak of?_"_

One of his ears twitched and he seemed to be thoughtful for a second, but then he replied simply, "I met Muro-chin earlier today… hmm… Muro-chin is Muro-chin. Just like how Aka-chin is Aka-chin". The smaller man smiled and reached up to pat the other's head, who bent down to meet him.

Watching this scene (something he'd already seen several times before), Midorima could only think, "_I will probably never understand Akashi's comprehension of this man._"

A few moments later, he finally brought up the question successfully: "Why did you attack that Swordsman?"

Green eyes observed the redhead gritting his teeth and tightening his grip around his staff as they continued to tread forward. "The weapon that man was holding… it should not exist here, and so I lost myself for a second. I've already realized that the person behind all this should be rather obvious though, now that I can think about it clearly. There's only one man I know with enough gall to attempt something like this; he's probably the one responsible for today's hair stunt as well."

Now conscious of the situation, Midorima nodded. "I am aware you were angry, but you attacked a bystander indiscriminately and almost exposed yourself to the others. And be more careful even if your pride takes over, I don't want a repeat of what happened when we were younger. You aren't alone here." His eyes had narrowed, but his glare was more anxious than annoyed.

"I know, and this will not happen again. Also, I won't make the same mistakes as I did when I was an adolescent. I've become more capable and have realized my responsibilities already."

The redhead stopped walking.

"Thank you, Shintarou–for being concerned about me. I'm sorry for having given you reason to."

The green-haired man turned his head. "I wasn't particularly worried about you, it's just that it would've been troublesome to go through something like that again."

Out of nowhere, a Pocky stick was shoved into his mouth.

"Mido-chin is a tsundere", Murasakibara stated, chomping through a few pieces of his own.

The Pocky was spit out. "For the last time, I. Am. Not. I am a grown man, not some puerile high school girl heroine from a plot-less, clichéd, and overrated shoujo anime series."

"Hmmm, when have you been watching those kind of things?"

"I don't watch them willingly! My sister forces me to!"

Murasakibara gave him a skeptical look as if he didn't believe that statement. "I bet you secretly like them… and you seem like the type to tear up at the sad parts."

A light tinge of red overtook the Hunter's face. "T-that's not true! I do _not_ cry over such trivial things!"

Akashi could not hold back his soft laughter. "So you do like them", he contributed, watching the other's ears grow a shade darker.

"What? No! What part of me looks like I'd enjoy something like that, Akashi?"

"Everything."

"Mido-chin is fun to tease~"

The green-haired man huffed. "Argh. I've had enough of you two. Anyways, since we've talked about earlier and it's passed the afternoon, I'm leaving. Goodbye". His hands motioned for the menu screen to open and he quickly pressed the "log-out" option without waiting for a reply.

"Perhaps we should retire as well, Atsushi. Would you like to join me for dinner? I believe we're having French cuisine tonight."

"I'll go, I'll go~ I'll be there in ten minutes."

The purple-haired man logged out as well.

Before following, Akashi looked out into the landscape, watching the sun start to set over the low mountains surrounding the area and the nesting night-time monsters start to emerge from their hiding places.

The world he'd created.

_"How nice it would be…_" he mused to himself, _"if things could just always be this simple."_

_**.**_

_"Are you sure you would like to quit game play?"_

"_Yes"*_

"No"

_**.**_

**"**_**Yes**_**"***  
_  
"No"_

_**.  
**_

* * *

I've said this before, but I always write author's notes and other small details right before uploading. If anyone ever wants to suggest better title names for these chapters, I'm open to it because my brain is stupid.

Author is stupid.

Author is sorry.

Author will go bang head on wall now.

As always, criticism, comments, and suggestions are all appreciated and will most-likely be answered and I hope you've enjoyed this chapter.

GPS' head hurts. Goodbye~


	23. Chapter 21: Cards & Peach

Hey guys. It's me again. In case you were wondering in the past two weeks, no I have not chapter 21. This is long because I can't plan fight scenes properly. Thank you Hayasaka Shion for betaing once again, I hope more people think you are wonderful like I do.

Disclaimer: This awesome series  
isn't owned by GPS  
/pterodactyl screech

Haiku are easy  
Japanese plurals don't require a "s" at the back and don't you forget it because they're written the same way as singulars are so when referring to multiple "animes" please keep in mind it is actually "anime" my friends annoy me with this no punctuation woot yeah.  
This isn't a haiku I tricked you I'm sorry.

* * *

_Chapter 21: Cards & Peach_

* * *

_Sunday: May 6, 2038. 9:34 P.M._

By now, night had fallen both in and out of the game, clearing the skies of their previous red and orange hues and replacing them with deep midnight blues and hazy violet undertones.

The majority of the _GoM_ waited patiently inside their stronghold for the arrival of their two missing members. Strangely enough, it wasn't Haizaki, Aomine, or Kise absent for once–though Haizaki didn't show up half the time anyways, Aomine was usually a couple minutes off, and Kise was quite busy despite how much time he spent here–but Kuroko and Momoi who, as of now, were precisely thirty-four minutes off the clock.

Earlier this night, a bored Aomine had pulled out a deck of virtual cards and somehow convinced the rest of them (minus Murasakibara who claimed he didn't know how) to play a few games of Texas Hold'em Poker with ladomi as a wager. Akashi had quit halfway after winning every single round nine times straight, leaving the rest of them fighting uninhibitedly for the winner's crown as he watched.

It was mostly the tan-skinned or silver-haired men who claimed first, though Kise got lucky once or twice by pulling out a nice full house or flush. Sadly, Midorima did not win a single game that night.

"This is pointless", he had sighed to himself as he put out another hand of junk, "Cancers were eleventh in the rankings today and you're all in the top five."

"Don't be a sore loser and hand over the dough."

Honoring the game's rules they'd put down, he obliged and materialized a bag of the shining golden pieces. Begrudgingly, he handed them to Haizaki, who'd beaten them out during the thirty-fifth round with a superb four-of-a-kind made up of kings and a jack.

A few seconds later, Murasakibara made a small apathetic comment toward the group, and although it was only an innocent observation, it managed to set loose hell, "Hai-chin, you have something sticking out of your sleeve."

"Shit! Really!?" the Thief panicked as the others narrowed their eyes.

Before he could react, Kise held him down and Midorima dug into his sleeve to reveal cards that had the exact same pattern as the set Aomine had pulled out earlier.

"Aaaah! Haizakicchi, you cheater! Give me back my money!" the blonde yelled, impulsively knocking the other to the floor, chair and all. They began to tussle, rolling around and knocking into their recently-bought furniture while trying to get the other to submit. Midorima got hit by a stray kick and fell into the fray–he'd been trying to separate them before they strangled each other, but now he was just trying to escape the confusing tangle of limbs. Aomine's dark-skinned hand reached up and covered his face; he then said in a disappointed tone, "I expected better from you", before turning away and shaking his head.

The gray-head growled then smirked. "_You're_ one to talk!" he snarled, grabbing a hold of Aomine's left arm to reveal his deception. When his sleeve rolled back, just like with Haizaki earlier, a myriad of cards cascaded down and tumbled to the ground in a messy heap, as if they'd just been playing Fifty-two Pick-up and not Poker. The Thief looked up toward Aomine, whose jaw had dropped in disbelief that he'd been caught. "You thought I didn't know? A true gambler can tell when others are cheating too!" he said with a smug expression that was practically almost begging to be hit; at least to him.

"Don't be proud of that!" Midorima chastised, taking back his coins and finally separating him and the blonde.

Somewhere in the next three seconds, Kise had removed himself from the stone tiles on the floor and climbed onto their table before jumping off and giving Aomine a flying tackle that sent them both crashing into the wall. A large, gaping hole was left in it for everyone to see.

But for now, neither was paying attention to that.

"Aominecchi, you traitor! Is this why you were wearing long sleeves today!?" he yelled into the other's ear.

"Cut it out, and quit pulling my hair! What are you, a girl?"

"You barely have any hair anywa–GaaAHH! DID YOU REALLY JUST BITE ME!?"

"All's fair in", he paused slightly, "cards and war, Kise!" was the rebuttal offered. Pushing off the ground with his hands, he rocketed off the floor and nailed the blonde in the stomach with both feet. The victim of this attack ended up hitting the ceiling, landing on their crystal chandelier (something which Kuroko had somehow gotten his hands on and was adamant on using), and unintentionally breaking off a couple pieces of it.

As Kise shook himself off and slid off the hanging light source, Akashi, now sufficiently irked, decided the quarrel would not be resolved on its own and stood up. The Sorcerer surveyed the damage; several chairs were in shambles, the table was teetering on three legs, and the walls were full of openings. Not to mention all the random objects and weapons thrown around that Akashi hadn't even known were hidden in this building. Perhaps being burnt alive would be a befitting punishment for the two.

With a couple orders to Murasakibara, he started to advance toward the two, but stopped when he noticed a flash of pink, as well as a subtle, faded blue, near the door.

Switching to another perspective, Kuroko and Momoi had just walked through the entryway to witness a flailing Midorima being lifted and thrown as a human weapon, Murasakibara holding Haizaki in place with an iron grip, and Akashi walking toward their resident idiots with a sizzling sense of hostility radiating off his being. Momoi sighed heavily, and the taller of the two in the doorway took note of his now-cracked chandelier and joined the redhead in his pool of animosity. It was less about him liking the chandelier (though he did, and very much so) and more about the fact that it had been a gift.

The new arrivals took a second to slowly turn to look at each other before giving small, agreeing nods.

Momoi ran up one wall and then the other to give herself a good angle; she then did a side-ways somersault before dropping her platform-boot covered heel right onto the side of Aomine's face, which let off a satisfying thump and crack. He had seen her and was almost able to dodge, but she still had caught the side of his jaw as he attempted to shift away. As you may know by now, limbs can't be dismembered in this game, but things like teeth and hair are free game, and so a snow-white molar fell from the Paladin's mouth. It wasn't too much to worry about; the empty space would soon fill with a new, fully-formed tooth in around an hour or so.

Kise froze, feeling pity for the blue-haired man along with an intense fear that he would be next to receive that death-blow. "Momocchi… is he breathing?" he finally asked after a few good moments of silence.

"Well, I don't know, Ki-chan" she whistled out, "You should probably worry more about yourself right now."

"Huh? What do you me-"

That sentence was left unfinished when a giant, swirling orb of destruction plummeted into his right side and sent him flying once more–this time, he landed with his stomach catching onto the railings that led to their second floor.

Now that the petty dispute was finally "settled", Akashi took the time to greet the Elf and pinkette, and the same was done to him in return.

"So why were you late?" he questioned, going over how much they'd need to fix everything caused by the two semiconscious idiots. He'd probably make them replace everything considering they were the ones that did the most damage, though that didn't mean Haizaki would get off free either. He would make sure they'd all have some very, well… _sad_ punishments.

With a final glance around, Momoi began to answer his question by summarizing these following events–ones which had occurred about an hour before she and Kuroko had arrived here:

Let's flashback, shall we?

* * *

_Sunday: May 6, 2038. 8:29 P.M._

Right on time, Momoi had leveled up and finished getting all the items she needed for a quest. She smiled at the blue-haired man next to her, who had been helping her with her item-gathering for the past hour.

"Have you finished?" Kuroko asked her, and she looked up and replied with a happy, "yes~! Shall we go back now?"

_Ahh, Tetsu-kun is so handsome.  
_  
They began to slowly make their way toward the town; from this distance, Momoi estimated it'd take around ten minutes to be able to get into range where they could use their Return-to-Town items. If she was calculating correctly, she could turn in her quest stuff and then they could make it back to the guild with just a minute or two to spare.

Most of the conversation made between this pair was about small things–mostly unrelated to game-play. The peach-haired Spy was excited to be able to learn about the other as most of the stuff she knew about him was second-hand information passed down from Aomine.

Two pairs of feet quietly thumped onto the soft soil underneath, and it wasn't long before they reached a distance suitable for item usage.

Both players pulled out translucent orbs from their inventories. In most games, there were items just like this that worked like Akashi's travel spells to allow non-Mage players to get around more quickly. Some allowed a character to teleport to the nearest town, others to things like specific destinations or even other islands (though those were insanely expensive).

The ones Kuroko and Momoi were using were some of the easiest to obtain–the kind that had to be replenished each time they were used that allowed a person to teleport to the nearest town. These types could be earned through repeatable quests on every island from the third on, or bought from other players. Once Kuroko and Momoi got back to _Caldina_, they would use special "Warp-Orbs", as they've been called, that only worked in certain towns to transport them back to their guild. This type was reusable and would not disappear unless that person either left the guild or threw it away.

These items are the only thing that lets a person be transferred to their guild, and though it can't be given away, there is a way someone outside that guild can obtain and use it.

It hasn't been said yet, but there are three main types of PVP in this game. One is an official arena type; these are fought for Duel Points and are the most effective in upping a character in an official ranking. Another kind is battle outside an arena that both sides agree on; this type allows two sides to set up wagers like items or ladomi. It's only available for one-on-one and only gives about half as many Duel Points to the winner.

The last type is a nonconsensual fight. These are usually perpetrated by PKers in order to steal items from their unsuspecting victims. When someone kills someone else in a spontaneous battle like this, the winner gets thirty percent of their currency and several items random from their inventory (though the rarer an item is, the less likely the winner will obtain it).

This type of fight is the only way a person can get the guild Warp-Orbs from another player, but if they succeed in killing their target, the drop-rate for the orbs is usually seventy percent. Using this, that person and three others (at max) that are within a certain range can be teleported to the loser of the fight's guild, where they can attack and attempt to take over.

If the invading faction succeeds, they automatically receive a certain amount of ladomi, Guild Tokens, and will be able to implement a few other rules on that guild for a week's amount of time.

It would be at this moment, right before the peach-head and blue-haired man could use their Return-to-Town orbs, that they would experience this third type of fight for the first time.

The first knives came, and they would've sliced through Momoi's neck if she hadn't been walking with Kuroko. It wasn't that he protected her or anything, but if she were with one of her noisier comrades–Kise being the primary example–she wouldn't have been able to hear the weapons whizzing through the stagnant air and dodged the majority of them.

After that, the two were put on alert and stood back-to-back, watching for any movements in the bushes or trees surrounding them.

Whoever it was that was ambushing them now, Momoi could not yet tell if they had planned this attack or not.

Besides being the furthest possible spot away from town to use a Warp-orb, this area had particularly thick plant-life all around the pathway. It was a terrible situation for the pinkette, who was primarily a contact-fighter when she needed to do heavy damage. Also, there were definitely multiple enemies judging from how many knives had come at her–at least three–who were probably around her level. They seemed practiced in player hunting and had good aim as well, and if they tried to run, it was more than likely they'd get pinned in the back.

Behind her, Kuroko whispered out, "I will cover you, so can you find them?" before getting a defensive spell ready. She took a breath and nodded, and then put her focus into completing an area-scan skill. If the enemies were still in perimeter, she'd be able to gauge their situation and come up with a plan on how to defeat them or escape.

Another knife flew straight for her face, and she almost abandoned her casting to dodge until two white prisms in the shape of hexagons appeared and blocked it.

Several other weapons came from all around, but were all deflected by the shields that the Cleric rarely ever needed to use. The assailants still hadn't come out of the trees, perhaps for reason that Momoi had a chance of beating them at close-ranged combat or that they were wondering about the mysterious floating barrier around her.

Momoi was close to finishing her spell. The short concentration part was done (there were no actual words to this spell), and now all she needed was to do some simple hand motions before she could use it. One hand rested on the other, interlocked where the index finger met thumb. She slid them apart until the tips of those fingers met on both hands and created a rectangle before stretching the edges apart. In the box appeared a screen which grew as her hands pulled apart.

The finished product was a levitating panel that moved with Momoi as she turned to survey the area. By the way, this wasn't the only scanning spell she had, but it was one of the fastest she had to use.

She counted the hiding shapes–three in total; two were up in the trees and one on the ground, all from different directions. After ascertaining that they weren't about to make another move until she did, she mumbles their coordinates to Kuroko, along with a short-term plan.

The bluenette followed her lead as she materialized one of her best throwing stars and threw it toward the nearest shape, sending a Magic Ball at their head soon after.

Though the enemy caught the weapon, he was hit by the blast of darkness a half-second later, resulting in a painful tumble to the ground a few meters down. The other two tried to take advantage of their turned backs and bombarded them with various projectiles, but Momoi had made a show of kicking up a curtain of dirt to obscure them as they ran.

Since the thick woods would cloak them, they sped past the disoriented, fallen player into a plain with fewer places for their pursuers to hide. There was a good chance they'd still be followed, so our Spy got ready with one of her usual daggers and Kuroko chanted out the words to an AOE. By now, the Cleric's misdirection was starting to run out, but it seemed the enemy only knew he was there and couldn't pinpoint him.

The first two men emerged from the trees: one was a raven-haired man decked out in gray, black, and green with a large Bowie knife in hand. His equipment indicated the Rogue class–specifically Thieves as they were the only ones who could equip the type of footgear he had. The other was the same type of class as the last. He was slightly shorter with disheveled, dirty-blonde locks that fell over his eyes and seemed to be chewing on something.

_Where's the last one?  
_  
They were still hidden from sight, but the pinkette was sure they'd strike again soon; they were probably just hiding, waiting until their partners could create a window of opportunity for them. The tall rocks a couple of meters away were probably where they'd most likely charge from once the two who were in the open caused a diversion of some sort.

But for once, she was wrong.

The ground underneath her feet shook and cracked, and an arm popped out to grab one of her legs, causing her to drop her weapon as a figure emerged from the earth and caught her in a tight hold. She wasn't sure how her opponents were reading them so well, but now she was sure this was definitely a planned attack. The tunnel in the ground had to have been dug up beforehand, otherwise it would've made more noise and she could've avoided this easily.

The enemy had set this all up.

A burning sensation made its way up both of her arms, which were held down by the man behind her. This electric stunning spell took some of the feelings from her hands, so for now she couldn't even handle her knives with accuracy even if she could equip them. With some kind of rope, her wrists were bound together in a tight knot, meaning that it'd be impossible for her to do the correct motion for summoning a weapon unless she escaped them. In addition to that, her ankles were tied together.

_Ah, it's kinda loose. Maybe I can escape while they aren't looking or something. But I need a distraction first…  
_  
The men from earlier sauntered over with grins lining both their faces.

"You wanna take over now?" the brown-haired man who'd captured Momoi asked. The blonde one smiled and ran his fingers through Momoi's locks.

_Creepy…_

He snickered, "Hmm, I didn't expect it would be that easy defeating someone from the so-called _Generation of Miracles_. Shinji-san was right about you being the weakest member". He pulled Momoi's face a bit closer to his. "So where's that little friend of yours? We thought we got lucky just getting you, but we didn't think he was here too. We were told a little about him, but he doesn't look very strong at all". He shrugged lightly. "Maybe he knew that and ran away."

Momoi grit her teeth. There was no way Kuroko would've just left her here alone; he just wasn't that type of person. Surely he had some kind of plan. Another side of her mind raced with thoughts occupied by the other words just spoken to her. Apparently, these people knew about their guild, had studied them thoroughly, and specifically targeted Momoi alone due to the fact she wasn't as strong as the rest of them. And who was this "Shinji" that was mentioned? Regardless, she memorized all this information for future reference.

Several minutes of waiting passed by, but still no sign of Kuroko came.

"Should we just kill her already?" one of the men finally said, tired of waiting. "I don't think the other guy is coming back. Too bad I don't get to get him back for nailing me in the face earlier."

Mid-phrase, Momoi had finally managed to wriggle out of the ropes around her hands. Earlier, she'd done the simple trick of pulling her wrists apart when they were tied, leaving just enough space for this to be possible. If she pulled out a weapon right now, it'd be too conspicuous, and though the one she'd dropped earlier was still there, it was too far away for her to just reach over. While the three men discussed what course of action to take, she began to undo the knot on her ankles with her fingers.

It seemed one the three men was all for killing her and getting this over with, but the others thought there was still a chance Kuroko would come back and try to save her. Pinks eyes darted around the area, searching for a familiar shock of light blue hair.

That was when she felt it; a very slight rumbling, just enough so that she could feel it but the three who were standing couldn't. It felt strangely familiar, and her intuition set in. The small quakes began to grow larger, and the trio became a bit startled and confused as they finally realized something was happening.

She felt a hand cover her mouth and immediately panicked, involuntarily gasping and shifting away from it. This was it, wasn't it? They were really about to kill her.

But when she glanced upward, she was relieved to find out that it was not one of the trio trying to silence any oncoming scream–just Kuroko who was holding a digit to his mouth in a shushing gesture. Then as soon as he'd appeared and as soon as the ropes around her ankles were cut, he disappeared once more with only a murmur of, "get ready".

One of the men–the darkest haired one–turned around, heaved Momoi up in an uncomfortable hold over the shoulder, and warned the other two that they should start running. Not too far away, a massive herd of various monsters were stampeding toward them, leaving the land underfoot trembling from their frenzied steps. For the pinkette, it was lucky that the day had long since turned to night. Thanks to that, the cover of the darkness hid the fact that her arms and legs were no longer bound together.

The horde coming toward them made them panicked, and though they could've easily dealt with her now, they were choosing to move locations instead.

"Damn. This was probably done by that brat from earlier", the brunette seethed as he and his partners ran toward the rocky slopes. He was unsure of whether the monsters would reach them first though. "Hey, Sakana. If we're gonna die anyways, just kill her so that we can at least get her orb."

The raven nodded, his blank eyes showing no pity or hesitation of what he was about to do as he materialized a trench knife and lifted it to her neck. He cursed when the weapon was struck by a random burst of energy, and ended up being knocked to the ground instead of embedded in Momoi's trachea.

The monsters were close to trampling the four, but somehow, they still had enough time to quickly jump from ridge to ridge on the large rocky structure nearby, and finally stopped on a high ledge. The beasts followed, but due to the difference in terrain and the fact that they weren't programmed to do so, they couldn't climb past the first few meters. While Momoi was thankful that she wouldn't be the chew toy of multiple monsters, this mountain was one of the most terrible places for her to fight on.

"_Ping!"_ the chime of a PM greeted her just as she was taken up on one of the rocky mountain's ridges.

Momoi took this as a sign, and from her position, she twisted around the man's shoulder and bent the back of her knee around his neck while simultaneously pinning down his arms. She clenched her thigh and calf muscles so as to hopefully suffocate him and effectively forced him to the ground.

"You bitch!" the brown-haired man from earlier yelled, charging at her with some kind of short sword in each hand.

The pinkette could only smile when he was pushed off the cliff by her blue-haired companion into the sea of aggroed monsters below.

"Sakana" managed to find the strength to shake her hold free, lift his arm, and materialize another weapon. Thrusting a dual-sided blade in Momoi's direction forced her to release her neck lock and leap back.

On the other side of the thin stone slab they were on, Kuroko was dealing with the enemy blonde who was currently bombarding him with several different types of elemental skills. The bluenette was at an obvious disadvantage; his speed was far less than that of his foe and it was difficult to attack when he was having so much trouble even dodging. As of now, several lacerations had appeared all over his arms and he was beginning to feel a bit numb.

He'd have to use it now–his intentional misdirection. In the usual guild fights, he didn't have to because his team mates were so eye-catching and matches usually only lasted up to a few minutes in length. Akashi had also warned him that once he used it once, it became significantly easier for others to figure out the method behind it, so if he didn't finish the fight quickly, it'd mean trouble. He probably couldn't win on a head-to-head battle, that wasn't how misdirection worked in the first place; a strategic bout would be the way to go.

With his staff, he partially blocked his opponent's next jab (though part of his left arm was sacrificed as a result) and set off a quick spell toward him. This type was of the Light variety and was called, "_Flash_", and it should be pretty self-explanatory as to what it does. For half a second, the Thief was blinded, but it was all Kuroko needed land a direct strike on his stomach. The other didn't fall, but judging from the groan he let out, it must've been at least painful enough to significantly weaken him.

"You're not as bad as I thought", the blonde laughed, opening his eyes and realizing Kuroko had disappeared from his peripheral vision. "Watch out, I don't know where that Mage went. You might be pushed off the edge like Kai", was the warning he sent to his black-haired companion.

"Hmm…" Sakana hummed. Currently, he and Momoi were exchanging blows. She was faster than him, but he was a better fighter and left very few openings for her to attack, and so far, it seemed she was losing. It wasn't only that these guys had information on them; they were also stronger than your average player, and what set them apart the most is that they didn't hesitate to fight dirty or make their attacks as physically agonizing as humanely possible. She was shown no mercy, and because it was currently a losing battle, she contemplated whether or not to just jump into the pit of monsters and avoid getting her items stolen.

The raven in front of her slowly approached, and switched his weapon to a larger, more jaggedly-edged hunting dagger. He charged a spell as he did so, and Momoi could tell he was going for one final strike to end it. The blonde finally stopped looking for Kuroko and was now cautiously approaching Momoi as well, and together, he and his friend backed the pinkette to the edge of the cliff.

"You're probably thinking about jumping, aren't you?" one of them said. At this point, she wasn't paying attention to which one. "Even if you do, we'll just jump after you and kill you while you fall."

Judging from the looks they gave, she knew they were seriously and that they had the means to do so. Her foot instinctively shifted back a few centimeters, knocking a few pebbles down. If she took one more step back, she'd fall. It was unlikely she'd be able to slip past these guys if she went forward though, and her usual style of fighting–jumping from enemy to enemy–probably wouldn't work on these two. Thanks to Kuroko, however, they were advancing gingerly so as to be ready in case a surprise attack was launched.

Behind the two remaining assailants, a dark cloud seemed to have formed.

And Momoi recognized it, though from the size she assumed it'd been there for quite a while.

It pulsated with dark fumes, building up magic energy the longer the seconds went by in order for the spell to be completed. She'd seen Kuroko use this spell many times, though most of those were on a smaller scale and were technically a whole different thing altogether.

"_Final Judgment._"

A variant off the first _Judgment_ spell. It takes much longer to cast, but the potency matches up to that time. The main downside is that it doesn't automatically lock-on to enemies, and if a person wanted to use it, they pick one spot in the beginning and can't change it until the person dispels it or finishes casting.

The Cleric became visible to Momoi behind the men's turned backs once more, this time close to the base of the rock ledge.

His eyes flared and bore into Momoi's, compelling her to trust the single word he shouted before he unleashed his spell:

"_**Jump!**_"

It might've been a crazy thing to do, but she trusted those words. Either way, if she was gonna die anyways though, it might as well not be to these guys and rather to the beasts. Her knees bent, and at the moment Kuroko's _Judgment_ hit the rock, she sprung off high into the air, as far away from the two Rogues on the rock as her legs would take her, and resigned herself to falling into the awaiting oblivion below.

_It was a pretty good run. I can't believe I've even gotten this far without dying even once. Ahh, too bad it'll be on the record. It seems pretty painful though.  
_  
The stone footing underneath the two Rogues broke off where the column of darkness hit it, and one of them toppled over and fell head-first, unable to grab onto any of the other rocky platforms. The other, however, was faster than his unfortunate companion and had plunged after Momoi a moment after she jumped off. Both stayed in the air a bit longer due to the fact they used _Burst_; if you remember that skill, I commend you. If not, it is simply a burst of air that propels the user in any direction they want for a short amount of time.

The blonde (the one of the trio who'd survived) fell faster than her, and in a few moments, he'd be close enough to be able to deal damage.

And suddenly, he passed her by.

Underneath that layer of hair, his eyes grew wide as Kuroko's hand caught the falling pinkette's, and the two were carried away by some kind of creature that resembled a griffin.

The Spy watched from above as the blonde fell into the lurking monsters below, and cringed at the way they swarmed him, thinking it could've been her being gnawed on and clawed at down there instead. The thought itself was less than welcome in her mind, so she attempted to block out any gory, bite-mark filled images she might've thought conjured up.

The griffin creature flew the two back to the ridge, and Kuroko gave her a small smile which she took a mental picture of to keep forever. "I'm glad you're safe", he told her, taking her hands in his so that he could relieve the numbness with one of his spells.

A pink blush and her brain exploding overtook her at the combination of that perfect face, those words, and that action. Though he caught her, _his_ shaky legs ended up giving out and they fell harmlessly to the ground.

On their way back (by Griffin and not orb so that he had time to heal both of them on the way), Kuroko explained that the first time he'd disappeared that night, he had gone and used _Pandora's Box_ on the first flying monster he could find–luckily it was the only flying monster he found because others would have definitely ruined his plan. It had almost died, but the spell still took effect even though it only had a few hundreds of HP left. The Cleric had used it to aggro a bunch of other monsters and flew to the ridges near the plain, making sure the lead the monsters in a way that they'd force their foes toward that direction.

He followed when they went up the cliffs, at this point no longer using the creature as it was too noticeable and instead climbing up by hand. The rest, the parts with stalling for time and breaking off the chunk of rock, Momoi knew. The pinkette was amazed Kuroko had been able to think this up in such a short amount of time, as well as embarrassed that she barely got to do anything in return. She didn't want to be a burden, and so it was now that she made up a firm resolution–not only for her guild, but for herself as well, because along with the rest of the egoists in their troupe (most of them were, though in their own rights), she too had some serious qualms about her pride and losing.

A little bit of extra training wouldn't hurt, after all.

But first, it was time for her to log into the game's main website.

Kuroko joined her in looking at the screen as she typed "Sakana" into the search bar. There were two players with that exact name and a couple of spinoffs, but none of the profiles matched the man with the blank, empty eyes from earlier. Next she tried "Kai" but all that came up were plenty of results and no matches once again. Finally, she pressed the keys for "Shinji".

She became frustrated–undoubtedly annoyed by all of this. Neither of the first two names she'd heard came up with any faces to match, and there were at least six-hundred people with "Shinji" in their username. Was it possible that they were all using pseudonyms? That was highly plausible. Or perhaps they'd used spells to disguise themselves; it was all a total mystery to the peach-haired Spy. Someone was targeting them, and she didn't know why, how they had the means to do so, or when they'd strike next.

Kuroko agreed with her sentiments that the smartest move would be first to get back to their guild and consult their comrades (or specifically, Akashi, Midorima, and perhaps Kise) so they could make plans.

She groaned seeing the image of the clock face she had summoned. She and Kuroko were late, about a half hour after their set meeting time. They landed near the town and entered through one of the main gates. The monster couldn't enter, so Kuroko had to leave it to disappear once it's time limit ran out. Momoi hastily turned in her quest items and the duo was finally able to pull out their orbs and finally return to their guild.

And the first thing they saw when they walked in was total carnage.

After running up the wall, the peach-haired woman made sure to put some extra force into inverting Aomine's face with her foot. That somersault really did the trick.

But anyways, now we are brought back to our current situation.

"What should we do, Akashi-kun?" Kuroko asked, righting a fallen side table then crouching down next to Aomine. Together with Midorima, he collected the Paladin from the floor and the blonde from the banister and placed them onto their semi-ruined couch. They had gained back some more of their consciousness and were both groaning from the wounds they'd just received, so Akashi called them all to attention.

"Like you said, judging from the situation, it would be safe to assume we are being targeted for unknown reasons. What's more, our enemies are bound to be more cautious after having fought Kuroko already. His misdirection wouldn't be as effective in another fight, especially on ground where they could execute their skills at full potential. We do not know how many they have on their side, or any other information about them for that matter, but they seem to have studied about us rather thoroughly."

He paused to let out a light puff of air and to rub his temples, seemingly stressed about this situation. Momoi noticed his eyes were a bit… off. They were widened and the pupils of each seemed smaller than usual, giving him a slightly crazed look that was similar to that time he'd attacked Kagami. As if reading Momoi's mind, Midorima decided to snap him out of it and break a bit of the tense atmosphere by continuing the conversation.

"And so what should our course of action be?"

"If possible, I'd like at least groups of three at a time at least but it's difficult to make our schedules coincide like today. Two is alright, but under no circumstances should any of us be isolated, and that includes you, Shougo". The silver-haired man let out a small "tch" in response, but otherwise no more defiance was voiced.

"I'll infer that the guild which attacked Momoi-san today have already placed bugs on her–perhaps on all of us save for Tetsuya considering that they waited until she was by herself. The main problem is that we don't have any skills to counteract mechanical-type trackers, so this will continue to persist". The Sorcerer then informed, "I'm fairly certain none of you three have any high-level removal techniques, am I correct? The next time we run into a Mechanic or Scout class, make sure you copy one of their skills, Ryouta."

The usually-princely man could only lazily nod once or twice before falling over to a position that was a cross between sitting, laying, and curling into a loose ball.

Momoi-san checked her watched once more. _9:45_.

"Akashi-kun, I think we should get on the ferry to the next island. The last one for the day leaves at around 10:30, so we should discuss on the way there instead."

The redhead nodded. He turned toward Murasakibara (who still hadn't let go of Haizaki) and asked him to carry Aomine and Kise on their way to the harbor.

The tan-skinned bluenette forced himself to his feet. His, "I'm fine, I'll walk by myself", didn't sound or look that convincing with his face swollen like that. His legs were alright though, so he shouldn't have much trouble unless he bumped into things in his blind spot. Apparently he felt around his mouth with his tongue because the next thing he said was, "Oh god Satsuki, am I missing a tooth!?"

The pinkette laughed at this. "Serves you right", she taunted, sticking out her tongue and making a small "blegh" sound.

"I can walk too!" Kise said, erecting himself but falling right back onto his seat with a comically pained expression etched onto his face. Kuroko couldn't blame him. Kise was a Rogue type with little defense toward magic, he'd hit him with a high-level spell at point-blank range, and it was in an area with little-to-no armor protecting it.

The Bandit was surprised when the other man slipped under his arm and supported him as he stood again. Beside of the size he was, Kuroko was an effective crutch.

_"Ahh~h,*'.:'*. Tetsu-kun is so kind and wonderful~ '*.'S2 '.*.S2 *.", _Momoi thought. And yes, the hearts and sparkles were included.

After filing out into town, Akashi finished chanting another of his transportation spells. They all stepped into the dimensional gate one-by-one, and on the other side appeared a rather large beach harbor that smelled of salt water, fish, and cold sand.

The next ship would come set out in just a couple of minutes, so the group paid for their tickets and quickly boarded onto the deck, letting a chilly night wind blow past. Soon enough, the horn sounded and an anchor was raised, and the ship set forth with a slow, steady lurch. It was unlikely that the entire guild would ever need to return to the third island, especially because the resources on the next were much better. The fourth branched out into several smaller islands, all themed to fit certain types of players or to have certain types of quests and monsters for adventurers to experience, and instead of ship, most of them were available by warp-gates or orbs.

In truth, Momoi had already been there once–a bit less than two weeks ago. Since she hadn't wanted to wait, she went in advance without her guild and got her class upgraded from Scout to Spy (most level-four class upgrades requires a trip there). Haizaki had gone there before too, as well as Akashi. The latter claimed he'd been getting items to create a new pair of gloves and the former was, apparently, chasing after some girl or something. The pinkette had been informed on the details of neither story but she let it slide since neither seemed all that important.

Fuchsia orbs made their way around each of the guild's members, and she automatically smiled at their usual antics and facial expressions that each of them exhibited. It astounded her how much each and every single one of them had grown on her. Even Haizaki–the flirty, rude, and obtrusive pervert–who'd left a terrible first impression was getting to be a bit more familiar with her (in a friendly connotation, I mean), and they could now hold a conversation without him staring at her enviable bosom.

"_This is going to be fun~ I'm gonna aim for the top this time!"  
_  
"Momoi-san, why are you raising your fist like that?" Kuroko asked from behind the pinkette. She hadn't even noticed it and quickly pulled it back down, feeling slightly shy that she'd accidently mimicked one of Aomine's past gestures. She was pretty sure he had just copied it from an old anime they used to watch as kids though–the generic kind with a crime-fighting hero and almost loveable recycled villains.

The bluenette was silent for a second before adding, "It reminds me of the first boat we were on together, doesn't it?" He propped his arms over the railing. "I'm really glad to have met Aomine-kun and you", he added as an afterthought.

Her heart thumped wildly, her jelly knees buckled again, and _god damn,_ Kuroko was looking especially radiant and shining and too wonderful to describe in just words–at least to Momoi. _How is it even possible for there to be such a perfect human being!?  
_  
If she didn't reach the top like she said, it might be because she'd have died of blood loss from staring at this beautiful, oblivious creature. This time, before she fell off the ship, she had to be caught by Murasakibara.

Next stop: _Kiseki World Online's_ fourth island, _Kuadoryvm_.

* * *

This site doesn't allow less than/greater than signs so I couldn't make nicer hearts. We finally have a chapter with more Momoi, so now we have everyone in the guild down (minus Kuroko because the majority are Kuroko centric)

Also, I've been waiting for a long time to be able to say these words: MY SHIP. IS ON A SHIP. Now just gotta wait for the... relationSHIP. God I suck at puns.

Thank you all for reading, I hope you've enjoyed.

Your feedback is appreciated through any form, so feel free to drop a review or send a pm asking, commenting, or criticizing. Bai for now~


	24. Chapter 22: Real Life & Drinking

HELLO WORLD. IT'S GPS HERE AGAIN.

Ehehe... this chapter was actually written up three days after the last was posted but I couldn't put it here 'til now. Unfortunately, my beta hasn't replied to me for quite a long time which is part of the reason this is late. Anyways, this chapter is unbetaed and stuff. Unless self-betaing counts.

Anyways, I've mentioned before that there'll be chapters like this every once in a while. Sorry if you dislike my plot deviations. /craistoself.

They're to give a little more insight on the setting I've created. Plus someone requested something about Kagami finding a job (I try to take requests seriously).

_Guest:_ Yes. A moment. Sorta/notreally/Idkanymore. Please keep in mind, however, that Kuroko's the one who did that in the first place though only because Kise partially deserved it.

_AwsumReader:_ Boy, that escalated quickly. I think someone needs a trident now. Here is another relaxing chapter for you but I swear plot-relevant things are gonna happen in the next one. Kuroko probably won't become the Demon King, sorry (though now I really feel like writing a crackish side story).

Disclaimer: FUJIMAKI TADATOSHI Y'ALL.

* * *

_Chapter 22: Real Life & Drinking_

* * *

_Wednesday: May 9, 2038. 1:21 P.M._

Since last Sunday, Kuroko hadn't really done much in relation to gaming besides a few sessions of logging in for some quick training.

Now that Golden Week was over and the weekend had gone by, the shifts at the convenience store were now back to their regular times (hours had been shortened) and the Daycare was up-and-running once more. Not to mention his college classes always took up quite a bit of time, especially with the new assignments that had come in right after the week-long vacation had ended.

At the current moment, Kuroko was in the Kindergarten helping to teach some of the children how to correctly tie a shoelace. A few paces away from him stood Aomine who, since Monday, had been scaring the majority of the children left and right. Today was his third day working, and though a few of them had gotten used to his constant scowling, terrifying forehead crinkles, and seemingly-perpetually glaring eyes, many of them were still apprehensive toward getting within a meter's radius of the blueheaded man.

The clock ticked past the usual lessons, recesses, naptime, and waking up activities, and the class was now doing something suggested by Aomine a day prior; basketball, his favorite sport.

Well, not so much the _actual_ activity but more of practicing throwing smaller, basketball-identical, rubber spheres into short, plastic hoops some ten feet away from the tape lines on the ground. While the children played, Kanagawa, Kuroko, and the assisting Aomine watched from the sidelines, cheering them on and praising whenever one of them managed to get a nice shot in.

When Kuroko asked what prompted Aomine to come up with this idea, the other explained that he had played while a lot during his younger years, and still did now whenever he wasn't doing his formal police training, playing videogames, or at one of his part-time jobs. The hoops he had were, apparently, collected from himself (one from his younger days that had been stuffed deep in a shed) and borrowed from some of his buddies in a rush that had him running around for the entirety of the late afternoon.

The taller man had also boasted about how he was "pretty damn good" at the sport and chose to demonstrate when a stray ball rolled their way. With his left hand, he scooped up the ball and gave a lazy little flick of his wrist, but the bouncy object still made its way into the hoop furthest from him without even touching the rims.

An applause came his way from a group of the Kindergarteners, along with some of them trailing toward him and pulling on his pants legs, asking him to teach them how to shoot with a twinkling gleam in their wide-open eyes. Of course, he didn't refuse, though his knees hurt later on from having to kneel to the ground so that he'd be roughly the same height as the children.

From this moment on, perhaps around half of the Sunflower Class had accepted him (he'd probably have to do the same with the Hydrangea Group later); if only he could stop with frowning and gruff tone when talking to them. Hopefully he'd be able to do it by the time his two or three months here were over.

The two blue-haired men and Yamada left around five-ish, locking up the spare room and leaving the last few children to Kanagawa and another of the workers.

On their way out, Aomine suggested something about getting dinner with him and Momoi later. Seeing as though it'd been quite a long time since he'd eaten out at somewhere that _wasn't_ a fast-food place with people _other _than his housemates, plus it wasn't his turn to cook, the twenty-year old agreed after a quick message home saying he wouldn't be back for dinner.

It was a bit early to be picking up Momoi (though technically, she'd be picking them up since she was the one who had Aomine's car) and going to the designated place, so the two ended up stopping by a retro-style arcade that featured all sorts of games from before 2010 or so. While Aomine triumphed during their games of _Street Fighter II_ and various racing games, Kuroko had the upper hand in _Tetris_; not because he was particularly great but more because Aomine was fantastically terrible. After the other lost, the shorter blue-haired man completely refused when he brought up _DDR_ as the next challenge.

They visited a solo-player basketball game as well–something which the tan-skinned man racked up a multitude of tickets at. Kuroko himself got a few (though not nearly as much as the other) while playing a virtual shooting game–the kind with a gun and targets.

Before they had to leave, they each took their chances with crane games.

"Arrgh. This thing is definitely rigged!" Aomine growled, giving the machine a light kick after his claw seemed it would close around the top of the box he was trying for, but didn't, for the umpteenth time. He gave up after spending eighteen quarters on the device and being lightly scolded by the manager. He did, however, bargain with him by trading in tickets he'd earned in exchange for one of the boxes in lieu of one of the more expensive prizes he could've gotten.

One machine over, Kuroko was gripping the joystick with extreme concentration, and when he was certain the mechanical arm was positioned perfectly, he pressed a palm onto a large red button. The arm extended slowly until it was a few inches from the bottom, and the claw opened and closed over a piece of a plush's head. Multiple times it seemed like it would slip away, but eventually the arm glided over to the opening of the machine and dropped the object it held inside.

Kuroko reached a hand in a grabbed it; a small, furry doll in the shape of a malformed but still cute bunny popped out. He'd tried a total of six times and had ended up getting two prizes from the machine. The first was a piece of cloth that read "winner" that he'd grabbed by accident while aiming for the cute fluff ball in his hand. When he showed it to the manager, the other chuckled and pulled a large, strange-looking doll from behind him on the wall.

It was slightly dusty, perhaps from hanging there for so long. In my best and most honest description of it, I'd have to say it looked like a sad ghost-potato. But Kuroko is polite, so he thanked the manager, accepted a bag for his items, and went on his merry way.

Later on, when they met up with Momoi at their dinner destination (which ended up being an Izakaya in a less-populated part of town since their first choice had been packed solid), Kuroko offered one of the two plushies to her. Unexpectedly, she took the strange stuffed lump instead of the bunny.

Kuroko couldn't tell if she was being considerate (she'd learned he liked animals), or if her tastes were actually oriented toward the… whatever it was, but she did look genuinely happy when she hugged it tightly to her chest and thanked him a multitude of times.

It was around 6:30 when they were finally seated in the restaurant at a small table situated in the back. Since they were here, Aomine, against Momoi's warnings that he was a terrible drunk, had work in the morning, and was _breaking the law _in public, ordered a glass of beer to their table when she left for the bathroom.

It occurred to Kuroko that he probably could've stopped him, being the eldest and therefore most legally-responsible for the outcome, but he had started to read and therefore tuned out all background noise long before.

"I'll just have one", Aomine had said at the beginning.

Thirty minutes later, Kuroko and Momoi, after quickly finishing their food, decided to pry him away from his sixth serving of the alcoholic beverage and take somewhere that wasn't in the eye of the public–after paying their bill, of course.

The tan-skinned man had seemed normal at first, just like he usually was without being heavily intoxicated. By the time he started his third drink, he was significantly buzzed, but still, the most that came out of it was a couple of dirty jokes and flirting with random women who passed by. Then on this last, he was thumbing at the edge of his shirt before slowly sliding it off and throwing it at Kuroko's head, which is what prompted their immediate evacuation of the establishment.

And of course, Kuroko had to question why this certain restaurant didn't bother to check Aomine's ID before serving him, as well as if he would survive ten minutes of sitting next to the other sticking his head out of the car window to "feel the breeze" and fiddling with his belt. Catching sight of his own subtle reflection after Momoi rolled the glass pane up, he only commented with a slightly slurred voice, "whozzat sexy beast?" before posing and flexing his muscles.

It only got worse when he question how Kuroko could stand wearing so many articles of clothing when it was so hot, and reached for the zipper to the jacket he had on; not only was he an annoying, inconsiderate of time-place-occasion, narcissistic drunk, but he was very touchy feely. Momoi swerved a bit when she happened to glance back at the moment he pulled up a bit of Kuroko's polo, revealing a flat, pale stomach and slightly defined abdominal muscles.

Getting an uppercut to the chin stopped him from going any further.

At last, the torture of close proximity ended when they reached Kuroko's apartment complex. Momoi would've taken him back to his, but he had recently lost his key and, when she phoned, his flatmate apparently had something urgent to take care of and had to leave, meaning he'd have no way to get in.

The pinkette couldn't take him to her place seeing as she was currently living in a college dorm room, so this was the best option save for abandoning him in the streets. After he started belting out some kind of enka-pop mix of a random song from the twenties, Momoi was seriously considering doing just that.

The two non-inebriated persons each pulled ones of Aomine's arms around their necks and started to carefully hobble up the stairs, trying to get him to cooperate with their efforts even though he was somewhat limp.

A rather gruff, "what are you doing?" sounded from below them, interrupting their endeavors.

One of Kagami's eyes twitched. He considered going around to the other set of stairs.

He had just gotten back from a four-hour shift as a barista, then another four hours of working at a family restaurant, followed by another two-hour job hunt.

He'd only been hired at a coffee shop because one worker, the owner's good pal, got his hand injured and would be out for a couple of week at the most. Since he had always had a knack for cooking and preparing beverages (tea, coffee, smoothies, etc), the work was pretty easy on him.

As for the other place, even though Kagami had been hired, he was sure he'd be kicked out soon due to the fact that the owner had accidently hired too many part-timers and he, not being an attractive young lady like many of the waitresses there, would probably be the first to go. Plus he'd also scared away some customers, but they were wannabe thugs anyways so he felt no remorse in doing so.

Perhaps he should've just taken up Himuro's offer to set him up as an apprentice bartender or join him at his job as a host.

Probably not the latter option though because Kagami happened to be terribly inattentive and unable to understand women due to his past experiences concerning a blonde-haired woman named Alexandra Garcia. It would take too long to tell about her, so I'll just say that she could probably make a room of grown men either bawl like babies (for several different reasons) or desperately throw themselves at her feet.

He'd been dumped several times by past girlfriends for "not treating them like females" or "being insensitive" so he was almost apprehensive to the dating scene. So obviously, being all smooth and trying to make women feel "special" would be something he'd have trouble with.

Anyways, after being out for so long, Kagami comes back only to find a familiar-looking pinkette beauty dragging up a large, tan-skinned man up the stairs of the apartment complex and-

"_Wait, is that Aomine!? What the hell are they doing here? He's looks weird. Is he drunk or something?"_

Upon closer inspection and observation (there was no way she could've been supporting his weight herself), Kagami noticed Kuroko helping lug the other up. They weren't really making much progress though.

And of course, Kuroko just had to turn around and ask for assistance.

"Ah, Kagami-kun, it's good that you're here. Could you please help us?"

Nevertheless, as being helpful was one of his indefatigable qualities, he didn't refuse and instead told Momoi and Kuroko to stand back so that he had room to maneuver. He took a place in front of the other and crouched down. Aomine, at this point, was somewhat compliant when the two behind him coaxed him onto Kagami's back, and the four began to move up the steps to avoid clogging them up any longer.

"Ughh. He's heavy", the red-haired man groaned, the day's fatigue kicking in along with this newfound baggage to take care of.

"huuuhh? It'z Kagami… hah… Bakagami", Aomine laughed, poking him in the neck and looking proud of his childish nickname, then followed with, "you still owe me a match! You uhh… asshat!"

A little bit of lazy hair-pulling and flailing ensued, and Kagami was contemplating just throwing him off the second story instead of taking him all the way up. Seriously though, who insults others using the word, "asshat?" This wasn't 2024 anymore.

By the time they reached the third floor, Aomine had somehow fallen asleep, though he also slobbered all over the right shoulder of Kagami's T-shirt. The door to Kuroko's apartment was opened and the sleeping man was deposited onto the couch, where he attached himself to a small cushion like a leech on skin.

Kuroko gave Kagami something to wipe his shirt off with before the redhead left while Momoi set several alarms on Aomine's phone for him. A minute later, the two college students made their way down to the parking lot and the slick, black, four-seat car. The bluenette had offered to let her stay and use his room, but she had turned red and partially exploded thinking about it, and quickly said she needed to go home to change and get ready for tomorrow anyways.

She also apologized for leaving Aomine to him as she seated herself in the driver's seat of the car before driving off, still slightly pink in the face.

As soon as Kuroko reached the third floor of the complex, he heard a rather undignified scream, and when he reached the door to his apartment, he was met with the sight of Furihata sitting in a puddle of what appeared to be instant noodles.

The startled brunette heard the door and twisted his head around to Kuroko, his eyes questioning why there was a tall, dark, and handsome stranger on their couch who had started gnawing on a pillow in his unconscious state. Err, maybe scratch the handsome part for now.

Kuroko explained the situation to him and helped clean up the chunks of partially stiff noodles and shrimp-flavored soup from the floor. He also questioned why Furihata was even eating them when it was his turn to cook.

It turned out that Takao was at the university working on something overnight, so he'd be spending the night at another friend's place. Furihata, being too lazy to cook when he didn't need to, decided to go with something stocked away in the cupboards.

To prevent another spaz attack, the bluenette sent a text to their raven-haired housemate. In the mean time, Furihata was wiping the pillow trapped by Aomine's arms so it wouldn't drip on the couch. Aomine seemed to have an iron grip, because much effort was wasted on attempts to relinquish his hold on the object and were proven fruitless.

They would probably have to throw that pillow away.

* * *

The next morning, Aomine woke up to the light chiming on the doorbell.

In his groggy, muddled state, he picked himself off the floor (he'd rolled off the couch at some point) and went to answer it. The knob had an unfamiliar texture, but Aomine's senses were rather dulled from sleep and his hangover. He pulled the door back, and in front of him were two things: one–the sun which burned into his already bleary eyes and two–Kagami Taiga.

"Kagami…? Why're you at my apartment?

One of the redhead's brows was raised in obvious confusion. "What are you talking about? This is Kuroko's place… Are you still drunk or something?"

Aomine should've probably thought of that first before assuming the other had stalked him out of the game, but again, coherent thought processes were nearly impossible at the moment. And goddamn, his headache was starting to hit him hard. He rubbed at his head with the hand that wasn't pushing against the door.

"Good morning Kagami-kun, Aomine-kun."

"GaahHH!" the two at the door simultaneously yelled, followed by laughter when they located the source of the monotone voice.

"Th-That bed-head", Aomine stuttered out. Well, after the scare and this sight in front of him, he was now much more awake.

Many of Kuroko's locks were sticking out in any and all possible directions, and were fluffed up to twice their usual size. He waited patiently for the other two to stop most of their chuckling before asking, "Why are you here, Kagami-kun?"

The aforementioned man lifted up a thermos and replied, "I brought this. It'll help with headaches". He held it out through the doorway.

Aomine grabbed the offered flask and pressed on the two buttons be found on the side of it. The cap detached from the bottle's body to act like a cup, and Aomine lifted it so that he could determine the thermos' contents.

"Coffee", Kagami stated. "My brother–well, roommate–gets migraines a lot and says it's pretty effective from experience."

The bluenette poured a bit into the cap and took an experimental sip, letting it wash the taste of sleep from his mouth. Rather than conventional black coffee that most people drank for this kind of thing, it was a light and sweet taste with only a slight bitter undertone. Not much to Aomine's taste, but since it was delicious in its own right anyways and the other had taken the time to prepare it, his gratitude was relayed back to Kagami with a simple, "it's good. Thanks."

A wide, toothy grin was sent his way, too bright, shiny, and blindingly sparkly for someone at this time in the morning (or maybe it was just the sun again). "Well, I have to go to work now", the redhead said, taking a look at his watch, "you can just leave that in front of my apartment later. It's next door. Bye!" With a small wave, he promptly left down the stairs.

Aomine pressed the cap back onto the thermos so it wouldn't get cold. "Hey Tetsu, do you have a toothbrush I could borrow?"

"The bathroom is at the end of the hall. You can take one from the cabinet."

When both men finished their morning routines–using the bathroom, brushing their teeth, combing hair–it occurred to Aomine to check the time. He had to breathe a sigh of relief when he checked the clock in the living room; _7:12_, which meant he wasn't late for training at the Police Academy which started at eight that day. He wouldn't have enough time to go home for a change a clothes and Kuroko's clearly wouldn't fit him, so he just left in what he'd been wearing after a quick shower.

Kuroko directed him to the road where he could ride a bus or call a cab and tidied up the couch (though he made sure he was careful with the soggy pillow), and then returned to his room and flopped onto the bed.

Over the break, some of his classes' times were changed; today he had–one two-hour class at ten, an hour in between, and then another three for a lecture about economics and commerce.

He picked his phone off the table and unlocked it to check if he ever got a reply from Takao. The other usually replied to texts within a couple hours if he was busy, sometimes immediately if he had the chance to. Unlike Kuroko who rarely checked his. The blue-haired man had used it a lot more recently though, due to gaining several new contacts in the form of his new neighbors and _KWO_ friends.

When the home screen came on, a mail icon at the bottom corner let Kuroko know that a response was indeed sent back. He pressed a finger to it and waited for the text message (with picture attached) to load.

The first thing Kuroko saw was his friend's selfie. One hand held his phone and the other was next to his face in a peace sign. His lips were curved in a smirk and one steel-blue eye was closed to wink playfully at the camera. In the background were several shelves of books and computers, so Kuroko assumed it was the campus library or something along those lines. Underneath the image, the message read the following:

_"__So now there's a drunk guy on our couch? Lol cool. Did you drink too? Because last time I tried to get you to, you gave it to Kou-chan and he started dancing on the table and stuff. I still have pictures of that. Anyways, I'm not going to be back tonight because I have a hot date. Well, study date but w/e. Ciao~"_

Kuroko placed the device back on the counter and grabbed his VR helmet in its place. He still had more than two hours before the start of his class anyways.

He pondered whether anyone else in the guild would be online at this time since Akashi had strictly ordered them not to go into maps where they could be attacked alone, by this time having placed the gear onto his head. He adjusted it until it was centered perfectly and gently fell onto his back.

As per usual, he spoke the simple phrase of, "_Dive into the virtual world_", and waited. Soon, the initiating process would end and, like usual, the void would fill with that world's colors once again.

* * *

_Omake–Part four of the Unfortunate Tetsu-kun Series._

The next morning, Aomine woke up to the light chiming on the doorbell.

In his groggy, muddled state, he picked himself off the floor (he'd rolled off the couch at some point) and went to answer it. The knob had an unfamiliar texture, but Aomine's senses were rather dulled from sleep and his hangover. He pulled the door back, and in front of him were two things: one–the sun which burned into his already bleary eyes and two–Kagami Taiga in a giant crayfish costume.

He then woke up to the sound of a harsh ringing in his ears which, by the way, happened to be the doorbell and his hangover resonating.

When he got to the door, he was greeted by Kagami–this time in normal-looking clothes.

"Aomine..." the redhead paused for a second, "why are you dressed like that?"

Looking down, he saw that he was wearing a puffy red outfit, and his hands weren't actually hands; they were giant pincers.

Kuroko promptly woke from his nightmare, disconcerted and slightly sweaty.

Or maybe not, because in front of him stood his entire guild and flatmates crowded into his room, all disguised as different crustaceans looming over him with fervent stares.

"Join us", they chanted, "_Join us!_" and Kuroko could only struggle as they formed a massive dog-pile on him.

When Kuroko woke up looking like a Japanese spider crab, he gave up.

* * *

What a long omake. Anyway, thanks for reading, like always~ I hope you'll join me on the next chapter which, hopefully, comes out faster than this one. Also, a friend of mine requested Himuro riding his motorcycle like the sexy beast he is. If I somehow find a way to fit that in, I'll write it.

Bye for now~


	25. Chapter 23: Weakness & Strength

Hello Everybody~

Umm. To the guest reviewer who commented about the ages of the characters, if you ever get to this, I will most likely not be changing the character's ages. This is fanfiction. Also, i'm still not sure if Kuroko is the youngest of oldest in the GoM, because the sources I've read from are extremely confusing and the school system in Japan is different from America.

Well, here is your semi-exciting plot twist chapter, AwsumReader. It's plot, not "plot" like *cough*Free!/HOTD/etc*cough*

SHIT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE.  
_  
_Disclaimer: I wish I could own a series Kamiyan, Onoken, and Suzu T. voice for, but I don't and never will.

* * *

_Chapter 23: Weakness & Strength_

* * *

_Saturday: May 12, 2038. 3:00 P.M._

As expected, for the entirety of the weekdays, Kuroko had barely gotten to play _KWO_ due to the lack of coinciding schedules in his guild. Whenever he found the free time in between classes and his jobs, or was available in the early morning or late night, most of the others were busy and vice-versa. He was only able to play once after making plans with Aomine, accompanied by Momoi–the session lasted just short of an hour.

These two days at the end of the week would probably be the most accommodating he'd get, so he was rather hopeful that someone else would be online at this time of day. He'd already checked twice earlier. No dice. Between all the little things he was doing today, like making a trip to the market, studying for the rumored yearly test in his Sociology professor's course, and doing his laundry, he'd be in the game enjoying a good novel while waiting to see if anyone else appeared.

A couple hours ago, he'd just barely missed Akashi and Murasakibara; the "last log-in date" had read around twenty minutes ago for both of them.

Now, the guild window showed that Midorima had checked in earlier. To Kuroko's thorough disappointed, it had been around an hour ago when he was in the community Laundromat.

Because of some unsavory thievery going on lately, he'd chosen to wait inside while his clothes were washed and dried; Just in case it turned out like the last three week when various selections of his and his housemate's articles of clothing (most undergarments but not including socks since those always went missing anyways) made like Kuroko. As in, they pretty much magically disappeared. The men's minds stayed away from the uncomfortable questions of "who?" and "why?"

Kuroko continued his examination on the short page, though, as indicated by the green circle next to his name and the unlit ones next to his guildmates, he was the only one here.

Right now, all he wanted to do was spend some time exploring this new island and the ones surrounding it. He'd been itching to do so for the last week, anticipating being able to experience all the new features and monsters and quests. Sometimes, he'd even space out during work or class thinking about this kind of thing–something one would not typically expect from the diligent student-slash-store clerk-slash-kindergarten-assistant.

He wondered if Akashi would allow them to train with people outside their affiliation.

When he flicked a finger and switched the tab to the "Friend" window, he saw that Takao was on. As expected since he'd declared the commencement of an all-day gaming binge. Then again, even if it were allowed, the last he'd heard from the raven-haired man, his time was being spent joining a new guild–his second since starting the game–and purging one of the sub-island maps around.

While waiting for someone to have their little dot light up, Kuroko visited the Merchant's Market, a map of the largest town of the island, _Ortencis._ Most of his current equipment and use items were pretty top-notch already, but it would pass some time. Who knows? He might find something cheap and useful. Maybe... Probably not.

Most of the buildings in the area here were what Kuroko inferred to be based off early Roman and Greek civilizations. Bright vines with thick, flat leaves curled around the columns and the sides of the structures, which were dulled, aged, and dusty color that might've once been eggshell white but was leaning more toward taupe with the addition of dust. It was a game, so it most likely had always looked like this, but whoever rendered the VR space had done a good job with the details, making it as if this were a real town from those older times.

While idly searching through the shops set up in the area (most of them temporarily-set booths, mostly manned by hired NPCs), Kuroko was beginning to think perhaps he should give up on the idea of playing today and do something even slightly more productive than listlessly looking at items he didn't need or already had.

The Elf thought about his usual companions when he was here.

Aomine would be busy until at least six or so, having signed up for some extra weekend classes to make up for the time he was spending at the Daycare. The Policemen's Training Institution was partially a college of some sort, after all, and from what Kuroko had picked up over the course of time he'd spent with the tan-skinned man, a few more academic lessons as opposed to the more physical activities would do him some good.

_A lot of good._

Seriously, it was as if the other had never read a book in his life. And no, gravure idol magazines don't count.

Anyways, Kise's schedule was a bit jumbled all the time, and the man had informed the rest of them he would be at a photo-shoot today, followed by an interview for a popular magazine that would last an indefinite amount of time.

Sometimes, during the quiet hours of working the convenience store cash register and whenever he was bored out of his mind, the Cleric would pick up one of those types of magazines to read. I'm fairly certain I've mentioned this before, but it was the main reason Kuroko had even known about Kise during their first meeting.

Well, that, and he'd once come up as a special guest on a variety show that he, Furihata, and Takao had been watching one day; the blonde had been dressed in a ridiculous dog kugurumi, which are sort of like full-body Snuggies or pajamas for those of you who don't know. It was fairly memorable, especially with the recollection of Takao staring intently at the screen for a fair half-minute looking as serious as brain cancer before finally spitting out, "He's really hot… but _not quite_ my type". He had turned to face the other two men to say with a solemn tone, "I prefer the cool beauty or cute ones–like Tet-chan… sorry Kou-chan."

Takao had been ignored until dinnertime for the suspense, and for saying something deemed as stupid by Kuroko and stupid _and_ offensive by Furihata.

Kuroko wasn't sure what Momoi was doing, but unlike the rest of them, she gave off the impression of having an amiable social life kind of thing going on outside of gaming. For their own separate reasons, it seemed that he and the guild's resident morons had few friends in real life, as sad as that sounds.

But still, thinking about all this changed nothing about the fact that the people the blueheaded man usually accompanied were all engaged in life by one way or another.

Contrarily, Kuroko had nearly the entire day free–besides his shift at the convenience store that started at ten and cooking dinner. It wouldn't be cooking so much as preparing some pre-cooked meat, rice, and assorted vegetables that had been sitting in the fridge a good week-and-four-days. Oh, and some near-expired boxed sushi the bluenette had gotten from the store manager. It wouldn't take long, and typically no one in the guild was linked into the network during meal times anyways.

_Hmm, someone else is logged in._

Kuroko stopped sifting through some random amulets. He'd been looking through the wares of a shop specializing in enhanced jewelry items when a small pop-up window emerged to the sound of a clinking bell.

_{__Haizaki__ has logged into the server.}_

Immediately after followed:

_Haizaki 05/12/38 3:17*_  
_Close message index.*_

_**.**  
**Haizaki 05/12/38 3:17***_  
_Close message index.*_  
_**.****  
**_  
"_Meet me at the South exit of the town",_ the other wrote, not bothering to ask whether or not Kuroko was doing something important. He wasn't, of course, but it wouldn't kill the other to send a friendly invitation.

"_Okay", _he sent back.

Kuroko could handle it as he'd gotten used to Haizaki's somewhat difficult, self-revolving whims though, and contrary to prior belief, he actually _was_ getting along with the younger man. Or at least as much as one could get along with someone such as him. The bluenette made his way to the southern gate on foot, noting that Haizaki was already there when he looked at his map. Because they were in the same guild, he would know where the other was as long as they were in close enough proximity–within three separate maps–of each other.

He arrived at the arranged meeting spot a few minutes later, and after saying hello and making the other flinch, he was greeted by a mumble of, "Took you long enough". Kuroko disregarded it to avoid any chance of the other starting a fight and changed the topic to, "Where should we go train, Haizaki-kun?"

The man took out his map and pointed to an area a few centimeters away from their current spot on the slightly crinkled piece of paper. Since it was a map, this meant about ten or fifteen minute's distance away.

In truth, Kuroko didn't really mind wherever they were going or whatever they were going to do–as long as he got to explore new regions and kick monster ass while doing so. The beauty of the game was that every island was just so distinctly unique compared to another, and it was almost as if you could never run out of new sights to see, things to do, creatures to fight, and people to meet.

On the way there, Haizaki kept badgering the Cleric about his slow pace, though as irritated as he looked, he never strayed too far ahead. Kuroko couldn't tell if it was because of the orders from Akashi (Haizaki never really disobeyed orders, for some reason) that they had to stay together or if it were out of free will, but it made the other considerably more tolerable in his opinion.

Kuroko spent the majority of the trip casting any applicable buffs while the other told him about their destination. It was a bit hard to listen to since he was talking, but he managed to catch keywords like "fire" and "monkey".

"_Cimignea", _was the name given to the creatures he and Haizaki arrived to. They were burly creatures, more gorilla than monkey, who swung from trees and stood on two legs when they were on the ground. Passive aggro types, judging from how none of them had attacked yet. They seemed like the kind to use numbers as an adavantage.

Haizaki made the first move, taking his dagger and rushing the nearest primate with a charged air-element spell. He spun around to avoid a burst of flame directed at him from another and silenced that one as well, taking it out by knifing it from the stomach up. It would have been rather messy in real life, but here there was only some blood splatter on his equipment which would fade away in a few minutes.

Behind the silver-haired man, Kuroko went into his own battle mode and began shooting off any of the beasts who'd joined the fray, all while keeping up with the dodging and re-buffing; he'd gotten considerably better at multi-tasking because of this.

At one point, their rate of monkey-slaying became faster than the creatures could spawn, so Haizaki finished off a couple more and moved on to the next map, which was separated by a jungle trail.

Here, the monsters were a lot more powerful than the last. It took Kuroko about three times more effort to kill one, and when he did, he found it was level 43–a good seven above his 36.

_This probably isn't a good idea for me…_

Even Haizaki was having a bit of difficulty, steadily losing his HP and MP. These beasts were not only sturdier and stronger, but more evasive as well. They could jump further and twist and contort their bodies in mid-air, so both players, especially Kuroko, were having a bit of a problem with them; this kind of map was meant for physical-type classes and Fighters. Kuroko was nicked by fireballs often, so having few efficient self-heal spells, he relied on the potions he'd stocked up.

In about twenty-five minutes, the Magic-user found himself becoming exhausted. It faintly reminded him of the first time he'd gone through one of Akashi's endless training hells, though he was pretty bad at handling this kind of pressure then. His stamina wasn't really any better, but nothing could help that.

To his left a few meters away, Haizaki was fending off three of the _Forcimignea_, mostly by dodging in a way that made them hit each other and not him. He wasn't very much a team fighter, which was half the reason Kuroko was struggling in this area. The other half, in his own opinion, was that he was still too inadequate.

_Still too weak._

A fiery blast hit Kuroko in the back, followed by another on his leg. The burning sensation only lasted a second since the system rescinded it, but the pain left by the blow still lingered as he was knocked to the ground by one of the large, hairy creatures jumping him.

It was heavy–incredibly heavy, most of the weight of the creature that must have weighed hundreds of pounds rested on his abdomen, robbing much of the air from his lungs. Now that he was this close to one of these things, Kuroko could smell the creature's rancid breath (he had to commend the programmers, once again) and see the jagged, saliva-coated teeth in its mouth, which began to be lowered near his face.

He saw from the corner of his eye Haizaki moving in his direction, but he didn't want to call for help, because sometimes, a man just gets tired of being a damsel in distress.

With whatever strength he could muster, he turned his pinned-down arm and turned a palm toward the creature. Because his staff had been knocked away and was lying just out of his reach, he used a Holy spell instead, hitting the in a spot between a thigh and pelvis.

_[-4902 HP, Forcimignea: {9,223/14,125}]_

Not much damage was dealt in comparison to his stronger spells, which could one-hit K.O. since these had low tolerance for magic, but the creature took a second to howl in pain and lift off its heavy arms.

Kuroko put his hands together in a very "Kamehameha"-esque fashion, and between them formed a shining ball of light, stringing his eyes with their brightness even though that wasn't the point of the spell. It was like an upgraded form of the simpler _Magic Ball_, though it had to be done with two hands, which was why Kuroko never really used it.

The primate quickly opened and closed its jaw around the Cleric's hands, which were still positioned as the magical energy was built up. He thought he faintly heard Haizaki yell out with a worried (by worried, I mean annoyed that Kuroko was caught in this predicament) tone, but he was just concentrating on his spell. There was a stinging pain in his forearms where he was being bitten, his blood running down in trickling streams that stained the creature's fur a crimson red.

_[-2,506 HP, Kuroko: {559/8,260}]_

His HP nearly drained, he released his attack and watched, slightly dazed, as the creature imploded from the inside.

_{+3,612 Experience, [+160 Party Bonus]}  
{Kuroko has obtained: 5,633 ladomi, Forcimignea Tail}_

_{Kuroko has leveled up!: level 37}_

No guts or flying chunks of meat, but there was a little bit of monkey blood splattering as the pieces of the creature separated and became shining pixels that soon disintegrated, like fireworks.

A ripple of dizziness hit when he got up, probably from having stood up too fast after being knocked down so hard, but he managed to grab his staff on the way. He downed a potion as he observed the monsters that replaced the last, and they warily looked back at him, circling him slowly, waiting, ready to attack at any moment.

"_Weakness can become strength if one believes it to be so"_, Kuroko had once read, "_If one can somehow pick themselves from the ground after falling and acknowledge the fact that they may be powerless in some way, but that there is no meaning to power by itself, they can begin to grow and develop into something greater. Determination–a ceaseless, immortal will–whether for good or evil, is what sets apart those who are weak and those who aren't, and is what makes all the difference."_

He'd forgotten where that passage came from, but for some reason, it rang clearly in his ears. The promises he'd made in the last year, to Aomine and Momoi, to Akashi–his entire guild, really–to friends like Takao and Furihata, and to their newfound rival, Seirin, all came along with it.

_I'll become stronger._

He was sore, beat-up, and tired–especially tired–from the last half hour, but his senses felt heightened even though his body didn't seem like it could even feel anything at all. What came over him at that moment, he didn't know. Perhaps his instinct played a part, or some kind of strange impulse, but he raised his staff high into the air.

The deep black wood got darker, and the crystal that floated at the top glowed intensely, and Kuroko didn't know if the monsters were somehow intimidated, but they kept their distance from him. Line-by-line, just like with every spell he chanted, words appeared in front of the Cleric, who felt compelled, obligated even, to speak them out loud.

_"In this fickle world in which my soul cannot find rest or be allowed redemption, I seek what has been forgotten, washed away by unrelenting time and buried underneath the soil". _He thrust his staff into the ground, and vague shadows surrounded it, swirling around like a barrier separating him and the rest of the world. _"I call upon Thanatos, the ruler of the land of spirits, to lend me his gift–his strength and his wisdom. From the infernal blaze, a deception as if alive, the burnt ashes, scorched and singed, will sprout an incarnation of my dauntless conviction." _

The glowing jewel began pulsing, and it seemed that all sound but Kuroko's words were sucked out of the space leaving an eerie silence. Watching this scene, Haizaki had to admit he was slightly freaked out, but he still observed from the sidelines as he felt he shouldn't interrupt. He was at least smarter than people gave him credit for.

Kuroko took a final glance around before he said the final line in the supposed spell. The _Forcimignea_ were all fleeing, ignoring the two adventurers as they escaped under the tree canopies, and Haizaki looked like he was considering following them.

_"I beseech you, cast off that which binds you and bestow upon me a revolutionary power."_

The world became black, seemingly even more devoid of light than any moonless night or underground basement could ever be. Kuroko had to blink his eyes shut because the overwhelming darkness was too oppressive for him to handle. It was worse than looking at the sun, because closing his eyes now made it feel like he would never be able to open them again.

He was thankful when, a few minutes later, he _was_ able to open them.

It had taken several minutes for the blindness to fade enough for his optic nerves to be able to discern shapes from their surroundings, to see that everything was set ablaze.

Abnormal black flames surrounded him, devouring all the plants around him, yet not burning them. He looked and saw that his feet were engulfed in flame too, yet it was cool rather than hot, even when he ran his fingers through the blaze.

Finally, he turned his gaze back to his staff.

What used to be his staff.

In the place of his weapon was the end of a burning rod, before it became almost entirely dust–fine black ashes that rested on the dirt ground. Resting on top was the crystal that had once floated between it, still shining that brilliant, aquamarine shade of blue. Still burning an intense, shadowy black.

He kneeled in front of the pile and took it in hand. A bit slipped through his fingertips before it all disappeared.

_{Kuroko has obtained: Gaea's Earth, Essence of Thanatos}_

After a few seconds off staring wide-eyed at his palms trying to comprehend everything that had happened in the last five minutes, Kuroko felt a pressure around his shoulder. He looked behind him and saw that Haizaki was staring down at him with an incredulous, slightly pissed-off facial expression; it mimicked his own, minus the pissed-off part.

"So…" the younger man started off slowly, grabbing a slightly-torn, robe-clad arm and lifting Kuroko off the ground."What. The fuck. Was that?"

All Kuroko could do was offer back an honest and simple, "I do not know."

* * *

_Kiseki World Online: Monsters_

_Currently, the different types of monsters created in this world come up to about five-hundred creatures, though the list is still growing as the game does. One of the reasons the game has many patches is because new monsters are placed, sometimes in already-existing maps, and the code has to be altered so that they can spawn._

_Their are several types of Aggro types:  
Passive Aggro means it won't attack until you do. These were more common in lower-level monsters, though they haven't completely gone away.  
Active Aggro types are the ones that attack you as long as you're within range. Most monsters become this type at night.  
Group Aggro Means that once one of them locks onto you, the rest of them will also give chase. They're very good for mobs, but easily destructive and deadly.  
__Trigger Aggro, which we've not yet seen, will attack one you do a specific action, such as destroying a tree or taking a certain item from their midst.  
__Non Aggro monsters exist as well. These won't attack you no matter what, and will usually just run away._

_There are more, but they are more detailed in description and would take up too much time. _

* * *

Well... sorry for slow updates. I swear I'm trying, but a mixture of writer's block and preparing for the new school year (GPS is a joshi kousei btw) have me kinda stumped.

Also, as always, the feedback some of you guys give me is very encouraging. Seriously, thank you. I'm really glad you guys have been reading this from the beginning, and it'd be great if you always did. It cheers me up whenever I'm in a slump (all the time). I'm aware I'm not too great at writing and that my style is a bit strange at times, so I'm really glad that you still enjoy this.

Thanks for reading, I'm out~


	26. Chapter 24: Problems & Good People

I'M SORRY. GPS IS MEGA SORRY. IT'S BEEN A MONTH SINCE THE LAST UPDATE.

School has actually been really busy for me. Freshman year did not prepare me for this at all. I'm also a Club officer, trying to join a sport, and am in a volunteer club which does not help. My life has slowed down a bit, but I'm not sure how fast I can write these chapters. Just know that I am not going to give up on this story and it will not be going on hiatus if I can help it. I'll just be slow (/craissadly)

_AkaKuro Shipper_: THANK YOU I'M SORRY IT IS NOT YOUR OTP.

There might be mistakes in this chapter, but I currently have a terrible headache so I'll have to correct them later. I don't want to put this off any longer.

With all that taken care of, Kuroko no Basuke is not mine, and welcome back to _Kiseki World Online_._  
_

* * *

Chapter 24: Problems & Good People (Or alternatively: Silver & Gold)

* * *

It took less than a minute for the remainder of the fires to quickly burn out. The wispy black flames which had burned so vivaciously just moments ago disappeared, leaving behind only thin screens of smoke which eventually also evaporated into the air.

They decided to leave and teleported back to town where they could perhaps figure out what in the world was happening. If this kind of thing happened to all Living Weapons, they could accept it and just leave it at that; however, neither of them had ever heard of a case like this even though a few other players–Haizaki himself for example–had already reached the same level Kuroko had just become.

The pair entered the closest neutral area building in the vicinity. It was something Midorima had decreed was of utmost importance if they wanted to have any important conversations. Some of the highest level mechanical-type trackers in the game could transmit sound as long as their user was online, and since whoever had attacked them earlier seemed so committed to raiding them, their guild building or anywhere else wouldn't be a good place to talk about private matters. Places like the fast-food restaurant they'd just entered (sadly, not a _Majiba _as there were none in the town), were convenient since skills and spells didn't work inside, hence the term "neutral area".

Once they were seated across from each other on the semi-hard, leathery benches in the restaurant Haizaki began to talk, though he was soon interrupted by a stone-faced NPC waiter.

"So _what will your order be_?" the NPC grumbled questioningly to Haizaki, a bored expression on his acne-dotted face while his foot tapped impatiently against the shiny tile floor. He looked like a quietly rebellious and/or snarky teenager who'd probably spit in the food of a customer he disliked if he were human.

"Don't want anything, get lost" Haizaki replied, waving the NPC off with a few lazy flicks of his wrist.

The waiter responded in a slightly annoyed yet still apathetic tone of voice, "_Sirs, if you don't purchase anything, I will have to ask you to exit the building_". He crossed his arms, looking as if he would rather be doing anything else in the world.

"Bullshit!" was quickly proclaimed.

"_Sir, please refrain from profanity. Also, if you do not order, I will have to remove you from the premises_."

"I said I don't want any of your crap!"

"_Sir, please do not insult our products_". A loud, non-inconspicuous sigh followed, along with a sidelong glance at the clock on the wall and more thumping of a shoe on the floor. The waiter recited with fake enthusiasm, "_I completely recommend our gourmet, western-style cheesy meat-paradise pizza with four different seasoning as a topping, along with a super cool ra… rooty-tooty cream-covered root beer float as a dessert_". He stumbled on the "super cool rooty-tooty" part quite convincingly for an NPC.

A gloved fist was slammed onto the table, courtesy of Haizaki. The Thief glowered at the impassive NPC and brutally murdered him in his mind five times–make that six times. A few seconds passed. Seven. In reply to the serial-killer eyes being directed at him, the waiter just took his notepad and jotted something down onto it.

"_One cheesy pizza and root beer float coming up_."

Eight times. "GOD FUCKING DAMNIT, ARE YOU DEAF!?"

"You are making a scene, Haizaki-kun."

Several people were indeed staring in the Thief's direction, though they quickly turned back when confronted by his glare. He went back to berating the NPC with insults.

It was as if the gods were set on making it so that Kuroko never had a shortage of the pleasure (please note I am being very sarcastic here) of accompanying people who cause trouble in dining establishments, virtual or not.

Still, fighting with an NPC waiter was a new one. He could now add that to his ever-growing list that started with condiment-foodfight-tag by the guild's idiot pair; drunken disrobement by Aomine–solo; and over-excessive complaints to the manager of the Korean restaurant in the next city over about how the Kimchi wasn't soaked in vinegar long enough, starring Takao Kazunari.

"_Thank you for visiting Little Italy Pizzaria & Ice Cream House, your order will be ready shortly._"

…Nine times.

With that the NPC left via de-pixelation, leaving behind the fuming, silver-headed, nineteen year-old man-child for Kuroko to deal with by himself.

The table suddenly lurched a bit, and Kuroko realized it was because the other had kicked it. With one last curse and strike directed at the innocent marble, he turned his head to Kuroko and demanded, "Oi, tell me what the hell happened earlier."

By experience, the Light Elf was certain he did not want to do anything to aggravate Haizaki any further. It'd either end in loud, whiny complaints or a reckless fight with a stranger Kuroko was sure he'd be able to find. So in full detail, from the way the words to the spell were flashing in front of him to how the weapon was burning itself with a strange, black, flame-like veil in the end, Kuroko explained. He had forgotten a few of the words to the spell but most of them were there, so he started to quickly jot them down after he was finished talking. He had almost finished when a blur appeared next to their table and became an image.

"_Here is your meal, please enjoy"_, said the NPC. Luckily it wasn't the same one as earlier.

Despite his earlier opposition, Haizaki still grabbed a slice of the pizza with the too-long, too-stupid description and began eating. Kuroko took the float. With his mouth half full, Haizaki then inquired, "So you know nothing about this thing?"

_I thought that would be obvious._

Kuroko nodded once in return. "I have never heard of something like this, so I was thinking of asking Akashi-kun for help". The fizzy content of the float was avoided as Kuroko's attentions were focused on scooping out spoonfuls of French Vanilla ice cream to eat without mixing it with the soda. "He seems to be very knowledgeable about this game".

The man sitting across from Kuroko swallowed the food he'd been chewing and stared at him suspiciously. Seconds passed. He looked around the room and, ascertaining that no one was paying attention to him, leaned forward a bit and broke an awkward silence with, "You… how much do you know about Akashi?"

The question was so unexpected that it took Kuroko some time to comprehend what the other had just asked, and then some more to formulate a clear response.

"I do not know much about Akashi-kun outside this game", he finally replied slowly–somewhat cautiously as he stared back at the Thief whose eyes were mixed between questioning and just the slightest bit angry. After Kuroko finished saying so, he relayed the fact through his mind that it was true. Besides the other man's name, age, and in-game appearance, he really hadn't learned anything else about the mysterious redhead.

"Do you know Akashi-kun from real life?" the bluenette asked, feeding a small scoop of ice cream to himself, trying to find something to do other than scrutinize and be scrutinized. Following the previous question (mostly to confirm the suspicions that'd formed in the last three weeks), he added, "Is it possible that he was, perhaps, some kind of beta-tester or programmer who had worked on this game? It would explain a lot."

Another skeptical glance.

"Has he really not told you anything? I thought he would have told at least you or something. I thought you were one of his favorites or something". The gray-haired man let out a dull sigh and sank back into his seat, accidently bumping the underside of the table with his arm while he was at it.

"Well, since you kind of already guessed at it, I don't know if Akashi would be able to keep it much of a secret", he bit into a slice of pizza and took his time chewing, looking as if he were considering if he should continue.

He did.

"But yeah, I know Akashi from real life."

_I wonder how. They are very different._

The other didn't elaborate on their relationship, instead carrying on with, "He was both a beta and a programmer which is why he knows a lot. If you're thinking it, he's not hacking the system or using a modded avatar or something; sometimes, it's freaking scary how he's so fucking strong."  
_  
_He put hand was put to his forehead and let it run through some of his silvery strands of hair a couple times. "A word of advice: for your own good, don't get too close to Akashi."

"… What do you mean by that?"

Haizaki grumbled and took another bite of a pizza slice. "Nothing! Just forget I said it. _Haa_. And don't tell him I said any of this either–I'm not stupid enough to challenge that crazy bastard."

_It seems Haizaki-kun actually holds Akashi-kun in high esteem even though he sounds like he hates him. But what he is saying is very confusing._ _This doesn't seem like that big of a secret though. It is not really uncommon for programmers to play their own games._

Kuroko wanted to ask for more details, but for some reason the Thief in front of him squinted at something in the air for several seconds, as if he were reading. When Kuroko looked, there was nothing there. A _pm_? Storage window?

A short period of time passed. The ash-haired man looked somehow fatigued, pale even, and the silence filling the air between them felt just a bit _too_ stagnant, so Kuroko felt he shouldn't bring the conversation back up. He settled for stirring his spoon around the cup's rim, most of the ice cream having melted and mixed into the root beer to the point where he could no longer separate them any longer.

Haizaki stared at the gray-ish wall, table, or something equally uninteresting, looking like he was stuck on a train of thought, and Kuroko pretended to read a book as he examined the previous conversation and took brief glances toward the other every minute or so.

Finally, Haizaki took it upon himself to end it by standing up and brusquely saying, "Let's go training. You have replacement weapons, right? You better not be fucking useless without that staff or I'll kick your ass" followed by him unceremoniously dumping the remainder of his pizza in the trash. He looked a bit anxious stomping so heavily and gritting his teeth like he was.

Kuroko followed obediently. No sooner had they stepped out of the building that a, _"Ti-ting!_" was heard by both players (In case you're wondering, that's the onomatopoeia for the log-in noise).

_{Kise has logged into the server.}_

_Kise 05/12/38 4:23*  
__Close message index.*_

_**.**_

_**Kise 05/12/38 4:23***_  
_Close message index.*_  
_**.  
**_  
_"I'm here! Kurokocchi, Haizakicchi, are you with each other? Oh wait, the guild window map says you are. Anyways, let's go train together. Just go on without me and I'll meet you there in five minutes, I'm on the other side of town right~._

_~(*'A '*~) I haven't had much time for playing lately~ Work has been really busy right after the holiday ended. TT^TT A couple of days ago I got a new gig modeling for some kind of cosmetics product that's gonna be released soon. It smells really nice, it's cal…"_

Kuroko didn't bother reading the rest of it after seeing the length of the scroll bar. Was it really humanely possible to type that much in less than three minutes?

_"Hello Kise-kun, we'll be waiting", t_he bluenette wrote back.

Haizaki, who'd read half the second paragraph had on a disgusted expression and Kuroko thought he heard the utterance of the words, "creepy", and "gross", about how long it went on about the make-up he was using. The grayheaded man closed the tab and trudged forward, visibly cringing.

* * *

The two got to a training ground Haizaki had decided on–one with relatively weak monsters–and it didn't take long for Kise to arrive. It occurred to Kuroko he was being accommodated, seeing as the monsters were just about his level.

Kise showed up quickly and, after saying a quick greeting to "Haizakicchi", sought his "mentor" out. It only took him twenty seconds and an inaudible gasp before he finally noticed the blue-haired man standing next to him–a personal best for the blonde."How have you been?" he asked in an overly-chipper tone. Then when he caught sight of what the Cleric was holding, he inquired, "Kurokocchi, why are you using that? Where's your usual staff?"

"It is a long story."

"I'm going first. Hurry up", Haizaki sighed, slightly peeved by the blonde's presence. They had recently been getting along better, but not really much more than civil. Perhaps it was the bad first impression that had prevented a friendship from budding, though for some reason the silver-haired man really disliked something about Kise that he couldn't _quite_ figure out.

Long strides were taking toward the middle of the hunting ground where the monsters had accumulated. Three or four other players were scattered around the map; it was a problem the member of the _GoM_ usually never faced considering they usually went for obscure or difficult-to-get-to maps. Their leader would often teleport them or give them the coordinates to these kind of places.

Kuroko was busy telling Kise a shortened version of what happened earlier (minus the words he'd had with Haizaki back in the restaurant). The model seemed pretty amazed and, of course, mind-boggled by this, but he didn't really ask any further questions, instead pulling Kuroko into the battlegrounds with a wide, peculiar smile.

_"He looks a bit absentminded today", _Kuroko thought, "_and a bit too enthusiastic_".

The thoughts were pushed away when he had to take up his staff and start casting. The one he was using wasn't bad, but it was obviously inferior to the _Phantom's Staff _in both basic stats and unique skills. It did give him a boost in _Light _spells, including healing, but neither of his Rogue companions needed many recovery spells.

Off to his left was Haizaki, swiftly cutting through monsters without even using any skills–he didn't need to for creatures of this level. The Thief was absorbed in his nonstop killing-spree even though the monsters weren't much of a challenge for him. It was like watching a hardcore Slasher film.

Off to his right was Kise, who was testing out some skills he'd mimed from some people the guild had fought last week. He alternated between Fighter and Mage skills, killing monsters more for practice than gaining experience or leveling up. And perhaps maybe for relieving stress, Kuroko noted, because the strikes he dealt seemed choppy and forceful, and his movements didn't flow smoothly (that, by the way, was something Kise had tried copying from Aomine).

The Thief looked aggravated, the Bandit tense.

It was Kuroko who, for once, ceased their training session–just before the end of the hour.

In the middle, Haizaki had started clearing out monsters faster than they could respawn, and using forced aggro skills which stole even the monsters from the other players.

Kise became more and more listless as time went on. Whenever Kuroko asked if he was tired though, he'd smile and say, "Nope~! Let's keep going!" yet he still appeared lethargic.

The blue-eyed man was annoyed by all of this, partially because they were being so sulky in their respective ways and partially because his mind was still grating over what he should and could do about his weapon.

Little opposition was put forward to his suggestions of returning back to the guild. They could put away the loot they'd gotten (at least coins since the equipment wasn't too great), and perhaps he could try to find out what was wrong.

You see, if you haven't noticed, Kuroko is quite nosy when it comes to other people, especially when they're in a bad mood.

To an extent, it's because he spends a lot of time observing people, but also because he worries a lot due to how much he cares for the people in his life. Well, sometimes strangers too but mostly about the people he knew. And up until last year, there weren't really many important people in his life. It's been said before, but he could have counted them on his hand.

When the trio got back to the stronghold and deposited their ladomi in the storage, Haizaki flopped onto their new sofa and told them to wake him up in twenty minutes before he was automatically logged out. It raised several questions to Kuroko. Why he didn't just log out? Was he waiting for something in the game? Even if he wanted to ask though, the other was already snoring.

The bluenette sat at the end of the table and motioned for Kise to join him, which the blonde did.

Right as the blonde sat, he asked with a lively tone if Kuroko had read the message, followed by more details about his job and what he did earlier that morning. Since earlier, the Light Elf had skimmed through the message but none of the things he saw could really explain the other's current disposition.

He tired of the animated, too-fast-to-follow chatter after a minute or two, and obstructed Kise from going any further into the description about one of his assistant's pet iguana (how they got _here_ was a mystery), by questioning as bluntly as he could, "Is there something bothering you? You seem off today."

No need for subtlety when you're Kuroko.

The other stopped and gave a wide smile. "No, there's nothing wrong!" he grinned.

Blank stare.

This interrogation process was something Kuroko had down all too well.

It took less time than expected for Kise to crack under those big, ocean-deep eyes, during of which Kise noticed that said eyes were really very, very blue. This newly-gained piece of knowledge was but a fleeting thought though. One of Kise's hands scratched his neck, from nerves not need, and he exhaled and asked in a subdued murmur if it was obvious.  
_  
_"Yes; your exhilaration over everything today seemed a bit strained."

"Damn. I thought I was a good actor too."

"Did something happen?" Kuroko asked, slightly raising a brow.

The younger man dropped his fake grin and leaned back into his seat–mahogany by the way.

A long, perfectly-manicured fingernail traced a circle into the table and he started with, "I'm having a bit of girl trouble I guess."

Kuroko blinked. Kise went on.

"Just so you know, I'm only telling you this because I feel you can keep secrets well. Anyway, I used to date this girl back in high school before I started modeling. We broke up a long time ago though. But then late last year, we were at a class reunion and she asked if we could 'get together' again, if you catch my drift."

"Hmm?"

"Ermm. Sex."

"…I see."

"I'm a guy. Don't stare at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Umm, Nevermind. So anyways, the problem is that she came back and apparently", he stopped briefly, "She's been pregnant for a few months. And she told me it might have been me. But we're still waiting for the test to get analyzed though."

"So how are you going to deal with this?"

"That's the problem! I don't really know. I only found out about this just yesterday and I've been completely stressing out waiting for the DNA test results. What should I do if it _is_ mine!?"

"Obviously you take responsibility."

"Another problem is she doesn't want me to. She's got engaged to some guy who knows about all this and wants me to keep my mouth shut but she thought I should still know about it. But then I feel extremely conflicted over this. I'm not really mentally prepared but if it's my child then I'd obviously want a part in their life! Plus I feel so guilty! And I also–"

Kuroko put a hand up. "Calm down and breathe, Kise-kun. And stop flailing your arms around like that."

"Ugh. Thanks."

"You still do not know if it is yours though, right?" Kuroko thought about what to say next. He wasn't really used to giving advice in an area like this, especially because he'd never even gone out with another person. It took him a few seconds to find the right words to say–or at least what he thought was right.

"I think you have to take a lot of things into account, Kise-kun. She is happy right as she is now, right? In that case, you should probably try to stay out of her life as much as possible."

"But–"

"It would cause a lot of trouble for her new family if people knew about this. Also, if they are good people, then I don't think you have to worry about them."

Kuroko spent a moment gauging Kise's reaction, but he was silent in contemplation.

"If you don't love each other and she doesn't want you to step in, then it is probably best that you leave it alone or else it will cause conflicts in the future. And you also have your own life and family to think about; there is no way you would be able to keep this a secret if you wanted to take care of the child. The paparazzi would make all your lives impossible."

Kise groaned and slouched back further. "I was thinking that I might… you know… quit modeling. I've actually been thinking about it for a while even before I heard this news though", he said, "Also, at the very least I could provide child support or something to help."

Instinctively, Kuroko bent over the table edge, placed his hand on Kise's head, and began to delicately pet it like he would a child. It was an adopted habit from his family, especially his grandma, who did it to him when he was smaller and younger. He found it to be one of the most comforting gestures he could think of; the soothing kindness of another person transmitted through the gentle, warming touch of fingertips would radiate throughout his entire being whenever he felt disheartened or sad.

Kise smiled and chuckled a bit at the hand on his head, and though he did feel a bit of embarrassment which showed on his face, he let the hand continue.

"I think Kise-kun is a very kind person", the smaller man stated after a few seconds, then sat back on his seat, "so whatever decision you decide to make, I hope you do not regret it."

"Yeah. Thanks, Kurokocchi. I've actually been kind of running away from this, but talking to you makes me feel better. My mom almost killed me when I tried to tell her."

He checked the clock. It was around a quarter after five.

"They said some papers would be mailed to me tomorrow morning to tell me whether or not I'm the father, but right now I think I'll try to go talk to that girl since she should be off work right now". Before Kise pressed the log-out button, he left the words, "I'll be free around twelve tomorrow, so let me tell you the news then, okay? And thanks again."

Kuroko didn't really think he deserved any thanks, but he accepted the sentiments anyways and watched as the image of the Bandit dissolved away.

Though it hadn't been twenty minutes yet, Kuroko went to wake up Haizaki. He was surprised to find the other laying down casually, arms folded behind his head and eyes staring up at the ceiling with a knowing smirk.

"So pretty boy might've knocked up some chick? I wonder what the tabloids would think if they knew."

"You–"

The Thief snorted while sauntering toward the door. "You should see your face, it's pretty hilarious seeing you riled up for once since you have about as many facial expressions as a rock. Learn to take a joke–I'm not _that much_ of an asshole."

"Hmm… Haizaki-kun is also a good person."

"Ugh, think whatever you want but I wouldn't make assumptions about people so quickly if I were you. I could be lying", was what he muttered as he opened the door. Kuroko thought he might've seen the other's face turn a bit red, but couldn't tell if it was because he was feeling angry or flustered.

"Hey, Haizaki-kun?" he waited for the other to turn around. "Why do you play this game?"

"Because I'm bored, like the power and publicity, and Akashi is a douchebag", he laughed.

Something told Kuroko that those weren't the full reasons, but he didn't get anything else other than the door slamming shut.

No one else ever found out about Kise's news even months later, much to his relief. Not that we're skipping that far ahead though; the many events in between are just far too important for that.

* * *

THE SECRET OF KISE'S WEAPON I KEEP FORGETTING TO PUT HERE: _M**E**moria B**L**ade o**F** Gold_ (Ignore the O). I almost got it to spell _Memor**I**a Bla**D**e **O**f Go**L**d_. (Even though he's a model but still. AND AGAIN THE O IS A PROBLEM) By the way, Haizaki's weapon is called _Memoria Blade of Silver_.

Thank you for reading peeps.


End file.
